Evaluation of anthelmintic efficacy of ivermectin, levamisole and albendazole against naturally occurring gastrointestinal nematodosis in Garole sheep

Efficacy of three commonly used anthelmintics (ivermectin, levamisole and albendazole) was evaluated against naturally occurring gastrointestinal (GI) nematodosis in Garole sheep under field conditions. After qualitative and quantitative screening of faeces of 150 sheep, sixty sheep having eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) 150 were randomly selected and divided into four equal groups. Ivermectin @ 200μg kg⁻¹ body weight and levamisole @ 7.5 μg kg⁻¹ body weight, injected subcutaneously, in two different groups, were 98.56 and 99.52 per cent effective, respectively. Whereas, albendazole suspension @ 10mg kg⁻¹ body weight, orally was 99.04 per cent effective and the fourth group was kept as untreated control with natural exposure to gastrointestinal nematodes. Blood and serum samples were collected once prior to treatment and on 10^th day post-treatment for estimation of haemato-biochemical changes due to anthelmintic treatment. Further, the body weight changes due to anthelmintic treatment were also taken into consideration for the assessment of anthelmintic efficacy.