Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ivermectin treatment for eyeworms in German Shepherds
By Fudge, Mack et al.·Published in U.S. Army Medical Department journal·2007·129th Medical Detachment, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A clinical trial of ivermectin against eyeworms in German Shepherd military working dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of German Shepherd military working dogs was treated with monthly doses of ivermectin to see if it could help reduce the number of eyeworms (a type of parasite that can infect the eyes). After 25 days, the dogs receiving ivermectin had no eyeworms, while those not treated still had a significant number. By 50 days, only 5% of the treated dogs had eyeworms compared to 14-18% in the control group. This suggests that while ivermectin doesn't prevent infection, it can effectively lower the number of eyeworms in dogs when given regularly.
People also search for: German Shepherd eyeworm treatment · ivermectin for dogs · dog eye problems treatment
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine if monthly ivermectin was efficacious in reducing the observed incidence of eyeworms over a period of 2 months as compared with normal husbandry practices in a population of Republic of Korea Army military working dogs (MWDs). METHODS: Prospective observation of 114 German Shepherd MWDs in a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. MWDs were randomly assigned to either a treatment group receiving a monthly dose of 0.2 mg/kg BW ivermectin orally, or to a control group given an equivalent dose volume and frequency of a saline placebo. A quantitative numerical count of eyeworms found in the eyes of MWDs was conducted at 25-day intervals. RESULTS: The prevalence of eyeworms in the treatment group went to zero at 25 days and remained lower at 50 days (5%) than baseline (24%). Prevalence in the controls remained approximately constant over all treatment times (14% to 18%). CONCLUSION: Although ivermectin does not prevent dogs from being infected with eyeworms, the study suggests that ivermectin administered orally at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg every 3 weeks significantly reduces the prevalence of Thelazia species eyeworms in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20091983/