Pharmacist holds egg count to tackle worm issue

Pharmacists and vets in the Welsh border counties have been working together by holding a series of Worm Egg Count Clinics to help farmers identify when they need to take action to treat their sheep.

Rod Jones, of R M Jones, an agricultural pharmacist based in Hay-on-Wye, said the idea of the clinics was to help avoid the unnecessary dosing of animals and to promote the responsible use of medicines.

Faecal egg samples were examined by Carmarthen-based Sheep Consultant Catherine Nakielny, and farmers were advised accordingly. The clinics examined over 50 samples at the end of August and beginning of October.

Generally, a count of over 500 eggs per gramme of dung would require immediate attention. Several samples were found to be egg-free, which dismissed the need for dosing. In some cases counts were low in summer, the larger counts have been seen in autumn following the recent wetter weather causing a massive larval hatch and presenting a significant worm challenge for this years lambs.

The problem of resistance to wormers has been recognised for some time, and has been described as "the biggest single threat to sheep farming" by Lesley Stubbings, founder member of SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep).


There are three groups of broad spectrum anthelmintics available in the UK. (The white - benzimidazoles or 1-BZ, yellow - levamisoles or 2-LM, and clear - macrocyclic lactones or 3ML.) Resistance to one of them is already widespread, and there is evidence in some areas of growing resistance to all three.

The clinics were organised in conjunction with Novartis, the producer of Zolvix, the only wormer from the new Orange drench class, and the only product able to kill worms resistant to all three traditional classes of wormer.

SQP Andrew Pattison, also of R M Jones, said it was important anthelmintics were used when necessary.

"Zolvix is the first new class of wormer for over 35 years, and we need to look after it. These clinics are about making sure you need to use something before you do," he said.