MEDICAL FRONT

REASSURING FINDINGS ABOUT FENBENDAZOLE

A new study from Wales suggests that the anthelmintic fenbendazole kills internal parasites without disrupting the delicate balance of other microorganisms in a horse’s hindgut.

Researchers at Aberystwyth University investigated the potential secondary effects of fenbendazole on the microbial population of the equine intestinal tract, in part because changes in the hindgut microbiome have been linked to other digestive problems. They first collected fecal samples from 10 horses kept on the same pasture and determined their fecal egg count. Five of the horses had high counts and required deworming with fenbendazole and five with low counts were not treated at all and served as controls. The researchers collected more fecal samples from each horse two and 14 days later.

Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to analyze the samples, the researchers studied the population