The new game changer for lice control in sheep

It’s not on the market yet, but a new treatment for lice in sheep has been registered in Australia and is receiving significant fanfare.

An oral lice treatment for sheep will not be available until later this year despite fanfare around its registration.

Flexolt Oral Lice Treatment received registration approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority in late March, but this does not mean it is immediately available for sheep producers.

The Weekly Times understands it could be a number of months before the product is on the market.

It is also unclear how much the treatment will cost. but Coopers veterinarian Dr Jane Morrison said while she had not been part of the price discussions, it would be financially accessible for producers.

Flexolt Oral Lice Treatment has received registration approval to be sold in Australia but may still be months away from appearing on shelves.

Lice is estimated to cost the Australian sheep industry more than $120 million a year and Dr Morrison said the more efficient and effective delivery of control through a drench, combined with a brand new active (chemical group) would allow better control.

Flexolt will kill all lice on a sheep as the chemical is transported through the blood, in comparison to topical applications other treatments used, which could have a varying level of operator error.

“We are recommending that producers mark each sheep when they have been treated, so none are missed,” Dr Morrison said.

“If you miss a sheep when you are drenching for worms, it is not such a big problem as if you miss a sheep when you are drenching for lice.”

But the big selling point for the new treatment is that it can be used on sheep and lambs with any wool length, compared to other chemicals applied externally which require stock to be bare shorn or have short wool.

The lice drench can be administered using a normal drench gun with the recommended dosage rates of 3ml per 20kg of carcass weight.

There is no withholding period for wool, and an export slaughter interval of 54 days for meat.

Australia chief executive officer Jo Hall said the oral lice treatment was “a game changer for Australia’s $3.5 billion sheep industry”.

“Lice is a significant production and animal health issue for the Australian wool industry,” Ms Hall said.

“Allowing farmers to treat for lice when they want has real benefits in terms of managing labour, optimising on-farm performance.

“Every sheep flock could have a lice outbreak at some point, but by giving farmers more control over the way they manage this issue with the addition of a new tool, this will help make on-farm processes more efficient and increase the health of their flock.”