NEW to the market – Elanco Zolvix PLUS!

Elanco launches new combination drench for sheep

Zolvix Plus is now available at AIRR Member store.

Elanco Animal Health has recently launched Zolvix Plus, a new combination drench for sheep. Zolvix Plus combines monepantel (the active ingredient in Zolvix) with abamectin (a macrocyclic lactone).

Zolvix Plus will continue to provide all the recognised benefits of Zolvix in terms of worm control along with all of the benefits of a combination.

Combination drenches are widely recognised as being beneficial in delaying the development of resistance to drench actives. The benefit is greatest when the starting levels of resistance to individual actives are still very low.

Zolvix (monepantel) as a single active has now been available in Australia for nearly seven years (since late 2010). Monepantel is a broad-spectrum drench active able to provide very high efficacy against all major worm species in its own right.

Research conducted during the development of Zolvix demonstrated efficacy against Brown stomach worm, Black scour worm and Barber’s pole worm of greater than 99.9%¹

It is a fact that resistance may develop to any drench and there have been isolated cases of resistance to Zolvix identified. However, monepantel as a single active continues to provide very high efficacy on the vast majority of Australian farms. Usingmonepantel in combination will help maintain this and preserve its useful life on your farm for as long as possible.

Abamectin was a logical combination partner for monepantel as it is the most potent short-acting macrocyclic lactone used in sheep. Zolvix Plus therefore matches two broad spectrum drench actives able to provide high efficacy against the same worms at the same time but in different ways meeting the key requirements for a combination drench in delaying the development of drench resistance.

Even if you have resistance to abamectin on your farm, the combination with monepantel will still be beneficial. Research has shown that a second active (e.g. abamectin) will still slow the development of resistance to a fully effective active (e.g. monepantel) even when resistance to the second active already exists. The higher the level of efficacy of the second active, the greater the benefit will be.

Where resistance is present across a number of older drench classes, combinations can still be beneficial in helping to maintain high overall efficacy and we commonly see this with the abamectin-based triple combination drenches (e.g. Pyrimide ). In this way, abamectin is an important and widely used drench active.

Importantly, incorporating Zolvix Plus in your drench rotation will help protect abamectin from worsening efficacy where worms remain susceptible to monepantel.

Parasitological computer modelling based on worm control practices in the main sheep-farming areas of Australia strongly supports the inclusion of monepantel in your drench program, helping to prolong the useful life of monepantel and all of the older drench classes².

Best practice guidelines (www.wormboss.com.au) recommend the use of multi-active drench combinations where possible. Now that monepantel is available as a combination product, Zolvix Plus will be the preferred choice in most circumstances.Zolvix Plus may be appropriate to use at any time, but will be particularly well suited to strategic use e.g. pre-lambing, weaning or summer drenches.

Zolvix also remains available as a single active and will still have a place to use where required as a rotation option away from prior macrocyclic lactone drenches (e.g. as an exit drench following the use of a long-acting drench product) or as otherwise recommended by your sheep advisor or veterinarian

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZOLVIX PLUS PLEASE CLICK HERE!