Short communication Efficacy of moxidectin injectable and pour-on formulations in a pilot control program against bovine hypodermosis in Southern Italy Domenico Otranto a, * , Riccardo P. Lia a , Alessandro Agostini b , Donato Traversa c , Piermarino Milillo a , Gioia Capelli d a Department of Animal Health and Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima Km. 3, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy b Bureau for Regulatory Affairs, Roma, Italy c Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Piazza Aldo Moro 45, 64100 Teramo, Italy d Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Universita ` 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy Received 26 July 2004; received in revised form 7 January 2005; accepted 10 January 2005 Abstract Bovine hypodermosis is a myiasis caused by Hypoderma bovis and Hypoderma lineatum (Diptera, Oestridae) larvae, which has a severe economic impact on the livestock industry. Though myiasis is widespread throughout Italy, no nationwide eradication program has ever been planned, unlike in other European Countries. With a view to setting up a national control program, a pilot study was carried out in Southern Italy on 9939 cattle bred in an area with a high prevalence of cattle hypodermosis, using moxidectin 0.5% pour-on (Cydectin 1 , Fort Dodge) and 1% injectable (Cydectin 1 , Fort Dodge) formulations. At the recommended dosage, moxidectin displayed efficacy levels of 99.9% in the pour-on and 100% in the injectable formulation, whereas the microdose (1 mg per head regardless of body weight) was less effective (65.7%). This trial contributed to a significant reduction in infestation rates in the study area and represented the first step through which a national program for eradicating warble fly infestation in Italy. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Hypoderma; Italy; Control program; Moxidectin www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetmed Preventive Veterinary Medicine 69 (2005) 153–159 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 080 4679839; fax: +39 080 4679839. E-mail address: d.otranto@veterinaria.uniba.it (D. Otranto). 0167-5877/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2005.01.007