The Era of Single Active Drenches Must Come to an End

Industry Urges Shift to Combination Drenches

Single actives drenches are alarmingly ineffective, leaving a staggering 40% of worms untouched. Despite this, they still dominate treatment against cattle worms, accounting for 80% of all drenches administered in Australia - a colossal 25 million doses annually. Industry analysis estimates that the continued use of single active drenches results in a 72,000 ton shortfall in national beef production, translating to a staggering $250 million in lost revenue for Australian cattle producers. 

In stark contrast, combination drenches have proven to be 99-100% effective against key cattle worms, significantly maximising cattle growth. These innovative therapies can increase weight gain in growing cattle by up to 29kg over 50 days. Farmers and the industry must transition to combination drenches as the new standard care to safeguard cattle growth and profitability. 

The Consequences of Widespread Reliance on Outdated Technology Are Dire

On some occasions, cattle are becoming sick or dying due to blood loss and/or diarrhea from uncontrolled worm burdens. More commonly, recent research has shown that continuing to rely on single active drenches will impact cattle growth, leading to significant economic loss. 

The industry asks for a paradigm shift, urging Producers to embrace the new standard of combination drenches

These innovative therapies, formulated with multiple active ingredients, have proven to be 99-100% effective against key cattle worms, significantly maximising cattle growth. For example, use of combination drench can increase weight gain in growing cattle by up to 29kg over 50 days. By killing more worms, including those resistant to single active drenches, combination drenches not only enhance treatment efficacy but also play a crucial role in delaying the development of drench of drench resistance, a growing threat to sustainable livestock production. 

'Single active drenches are simply no longer an acceptable option for worm control in cattle,' states cattle veterinarian Dr Matt Ball. 'The data is clear: these outdated treatments are failing our animals and undermining the profitability of our industry. We must transition to combination drenches as the new standard of care, prioritising animal health and maximising production efficiency.' 

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of Australian cattle nematodes, ACV Journal
2 Kotz & Hunt (2023) Current status and outlook for insecticide, acaricide and anthelmintic
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3 Woodgate et al (2017) Occurrence, Measurement and Clinical Perspectives of Drug
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4 Lyndal-Murphy et al (2010) Reduced efficacy of macrocyclic lactone treatments in controlling
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6 Mauger et al (2022) Anthelmintic resistance of gastrointestinal nematodes in dairy calves
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7 Ball (2024) Australian Cattle Drench FECRT Database - Virbac Data on File
8 Barons Data MAT June 2024- Virbac Data on File. Private Label and Generic data are not
included in the data analysis.
9 Fatal Haemonchosis Beef Heifers North Coast of NSW, Flock & Herd March 2023. Retrieved
https://www.flockandherd.net.au/cattle/ireader/haemonchosis.html
10 NSW DPI (2020) Duck Creek Endoparasite Trial (Data on File)
11 Based on ABS Livestock Data_Barons Data MAT June 2024 and price per kg retrieved from
MLA Nov 2024
12 Canton et al (2019) Impact on beef cattle productivity of infection with anthelmintic-resistant
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13 NSW DPI (2024) Worm control affects heifer fertility on NSW North Coast. Trial Summary -
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14 Virbac (2022) Comparative worm/tick counts and productivity in QLD cattle following
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Weight Gain is not a Cydectin Platinum registered claim.