New Systemic Treatment For Poultry Red Mite Infestation in Layers

New systemic treatment
for poultry red mite

infestation in layers
P oultry red mite infestation rep-
resents a major threat to layer
welfare. A recent epidemiolog-
ical review reports that 83% of
Poultry red mite infestation
decreases general health and pro-
ductivity parameters. The first clini-
cal sign observed in infested animals
tered orally to the birds through
drinking water, which is not stressful
to the birds and ensures that all
mites are exposed to the product
European farms are infested by is sub-acute anaemia due to when feeding.
Dermanyssus gallinae. This preva- repeated mite bites. A recent study has demonstrated
lence reaches 94% in The A laying hen can lose more than the very high and consistent in vitro
Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. 3% of its blood volume every night. activity of fluralaner against D. galli-
In extreme cases, D. gallinae infesta- nae isolates collected under field
tion burdens may be so heavy that conditions in Europe. No adverse
by A. Flochlay-Sigognault hens may die from severe anaemia. reactions were observed following
and E. Thomas, Merck Animal Mortality is increased mainly in treatment with Exzolt of layers
Health, Madison, NJ, USA. cases of severe infestations. dosed at five times the recom-
www.msd.com The ban of traditional cages has mended dose for three times the
caused the move to complex hous- recommended duration of treat-
ing environments, favouring the ment.
The presence of mites in a pro- proliferation of the parasites by Exzolt is approved as a veterinary Mite infested hen with anaemia
duction house induces a high level offering far more hiding places for medicinal product in Europe and a and decreased general health
of stress in birds. Stress is induced mites to escape classical treat- zero-day withdrawal time has been (A. Camarda, Univ. Bari).
by pain and skin irritation associated ments. For all these reasons, poultry established for eggs by the
with repeated mite bites favoured red mite infestation is widely recog- European Medicine Agency.
by the very high parasite load typi- nised as an animal welfare issue by gallinae in France and Spain, having
cal of poultry red mite infestations, the scientific community. two similar houses (flock size, age,
with mite densities ranging from Study objectives breed, feed, drinking water system),
25,000-500,000 mites per hen. were selected for the study. The
In addition, mite infestations Effective control needed A multi-site field study was initiated houses contained 19,000-100,000
induce aggressive feather-pecking to investigate the efficacy of Exzolt hens aged from 22-58 weeks at
and cannibalistic behaviour, Welfare concerns, production when used in drinking water for the treatment initiation.
increased feed and water intake, losses caused by the poultry red treatment of natural poultry red Mite infestation levels were eval-
and decrease general animal health. mite, and widespread mite resis- mite infestations in infested caged uated pre-treatment, during and at
Higher noise volumes are typically tance to environmentally applied layer farms in Europe. weekly or two-weekly intervals
observed by farmers in mite acaricides continue to drive an This controlled and blind study post-treatment, using mite traps (18-
infested houses. Increased self- urgent need for new and effective also evaluated the effects of Exzolt 24 per house), fixed at different
grooming, a characteristic symptom control measures. The few treat- on production parameters indicat- places close to the hens. At each
of anxiety, is observed in artificially ments currently approved for use in ing well-being of the hens, and evaluation day, traps were placed
infested hens. the presence of hens are mostly verified its safety under field for 24 hours, removed, frozen and
The severity of injuries resulting sprays, which is stressful when conditions. shipped to a central laboratory for
from such behaviour is currently applied to animals. mite counting and development
limited by beak-trimming, but is Exzolt is a new systemic mite stage differentiation.
expected to increase now that beak treatment developed to address Materials and methods On each farm, the treatment was
trimming has been banned across that need. allocated to the house with the
several European member states It contains the novel systemic Five enriched caged layer farms nat- highest infestation, for animal wel-
since 2016. acaricide fluralaner, and is adminis- urally infested with Dermanyssus Continued on page 26
Table 1. Reduction of mite populations after initiation of treatment with Mite colonies on equipment beneath the hens (enriched cages).
Exzolt. Exzolt was used on days zero and seven.
Reduction in mite counts (%)

Farm
Day 3 Day 9 Day 14
1 96.9 99.6 99.9
2 96.0 99.9 99.9
3 99.4 100 100
4 95.3 100 99.8
5 99.4 100 100
>95.3% >99.6% >99.8%
International Poultry Production • Volume 25 Number 7 25

reached 100% from 6-13 weeks post Conclusion
–– Farm 1 –– Farm 2 –– Farm 3 –– Farm 4 –– Farm 5 treatment initiation in the majority
Reduction in mite counts (%)
100 of the farms. The efficacy was main- This study demonstrated that sys-
**
** tained above 90% until the end of temic treatment with Exzolt
95 the egg production cycle (three to resulted in safe and non-stressful
eight months) in three farms and for control of poultry red mite, and
85
four months in two farms (Fig. 1). positively impacted layers’ welfare
75 In all the farms, the control of performance indicators. The results
mite populations was associated indicate that this novel treatment
50 with numerically higher laying rates has the potential to be the corner-
(0.9-5.7%) (Fig. 2) and with lower stone of an integrated approach to
25 mortalities (-0.01 to -0.15%). reducing or eliminating the welfare
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
The proportion of downgraded and productivity costs of this
Weeks after treatment initiation *
eggs, measured in two farms, was increasingly threatening pest. n
numerically lower by -1.1% and -3.4%
Fig. 1. Reduction of mite populations after initiation of treatment with in the treated houses. No treatment
Exzolt. *treatment administered on day zero and seven. **end of related adverse effects were References are available
production cycle (farms 1 and 3). observed. from the author on request
Continued from page 25 two farms), were recorded weekly Fig. 2. The impact of Exzolt treatment on laying rates between treated
fare reasons. The control house was before and after treatment. and controlled housing.
left untreated. Exzolt was adminis-
tered via drinking water, using a
dosing pump, at 0.5mg fluralaner/kg Results n Pre-treatment n Post-treatment
bodyweight, twice seven days apart. 6
5.10
The reduction in mite counts in In all farms, the reduction of the 5 4.70
4
Difference (%)
the treated house versus control mite population started quickly 3.20
was calculated using the after treatment initiation; it 3
Henderson-Tilton formula for the exceeded 95% based on mite 2 1.45
1.15
mean mite counts (mobile stages) counts in traps placed in the houses 1
per trap, at regular post-treatment three days after treatment initia- 0 0.08
time points. tion. Two days after the second -1 -0.40 -0.58
-1.00
Production parameter indicators Exzolt administration, the reduction -2 -1.30
of well-being, which included laying of mite population ranged from Farm 1 Farm 2 Farm 3 Farm 4 Farm 5
+0.9% +1.9% +1.1% +2.0% +5.7%
rate, mortality, and proportion of 99.6-100% (Table 1).
downgraded eggs (data available in The reduction in mite counts
26 International Poultry Production • Volume 25 Number 7

New Systemic Treatment For Poultry Red Mite Infestation in Layers

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New systemic treatment

for poultry red mite

Reduction in mite counts (%)

International Poultry Production • Volume 25 Number 7 25

26 International Poultry Production • Volume 25 Number 7

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