Comparison of subcutaneous ivermectin and oral moxidectin for the treatment of notoedric acariasis in hamsters

Thirty hamsters diagnosed with a Notoedres infestation on the basis of thei r clinical signs and skin scrapings were allocated to three matched groups. The hamsters in group I received ivermectin at 400 mug/kg subcutaneously o nce a week for eight weeks, those in group 2 were treated with moxidectin a t 400 mug/kg orally once a week, and those in group 3 were treated with mox idectin at the same dosage, but twice a week. The hamsters' skin lesions we re scored weekly on the basis of the severity of crusting, erythema, scalin g and excoriations at various sites. in all three groups the lesion scores were significantly lower after four and eight weeks, and there was no signi ficant difference between the efficacy of the treatments. However, at the e nd of the treatment, skin scrapings were negative in only 60 to 70 per cent of the animals in each group.