Sci Parasitol 11(2):105-107, June 2010 ISSN 1582-1366 SHORT RESEARCH NOTE 105 Therapy with avermectines and diazinon of psoroptic mange in sheep from Transylvania, Romania Vasile Cozma 1  , Eronim Şuteu 1 , Călin Gherman 1 , Bertrand Losson 2 1 - University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Manastur Street 3, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 2 - University of Liège, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Pathology of Parasitic Diseases, Boulevard de Colonster, 20, B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium. Correspondence: Tel. +40264-596384; Fax +40264-593792; E-mail cozmavasile@yahoo.com Abstract. In a study of three acaricides, doramectin (Dectomax ® , Pfizer) used at a single dose of 300 μg/kg b.w. given intramuscularly showed a high efficacy (95%) against Psoroptes ovis, in naturally infected sheep. All doramectin treated animals were clinically normal and all skin scrapings were negative for mites 50 days after treatment. At the end of experiment (70 days) only 5% of the animals showed skin lesions and a low infestation score (1+), compared to 10% for ivermectin (Romavermectine ® , Romvac Company S.A. Bucharest) and 20% for diazinon (Scabizol ® , Romvac Company S.A. Bucharest). The three treatment groups were continually in contact with infested sheep during the study. Keywords: Psoroptes ovis; Ivermectin; Doramectin; Diazinon. Received 02/04/2010. Accepted 03/06/2010. Introduction Psoroptic mange is one of the most important parasitic diseases of sheep in Romania (Şuteu and Cozma, 2004).Moreover, Psoroptes and sheep scabies appears to be common throughout all Europe (Colebrook and Wall, 2004). In Romania, control is achieved mainly by a dipping program consisting of two treatments given in the spring and autumn. Organophosphates (diazinon) and pyrethroids (deltamethrin) are the most frequently used drugs. In Great Britain, for the treatment of scabies outbreaks, macrocyclic lactones (largely doramectin) were used on 58% of sheep farms (Bisdorff and Wall, 2008). Over the past 20 years, ivermectin given twice at 7 days interval (Campbell, 1985; Şuteu, 1995) has been used as treatment for outbreaks of psoroptic mange in sheep. In recent years, doramectin (Dectomax) has also been used at a dosage of 0.2 mg/kg b.w., repeated after 7 days (Şuteu and Cozma, 2004). This latter drug has also been used successfully as a single injection at 300 μg/kg b.w. (Bates et al., 1995).