Sodium fluoride as an ascaricide for swine raised on the ground

Abstract

Two trials were conducted to test the value of sodium fluoride as an ascaricide for growing pigs kept on infested grounds. The ability of the drug to kep animals free from ascarides and the possible toxicity upon repeated treatment were also studied. Three groups of animals similar as to breeding, weight and age were used in Trial I. Group "A" served as control. Group "B" received 0.2 gm. of phenothiazine per pound or bodily weight and group "C" one per cent sodium fluoride mixed with ground feed. Except for slight variations in the procedure and the elimination of the phenothiazine treatment, Trial II was conducted in the same manner. The effectiveness of the different treatments given during the experimental period was measured by statistical analyses of the number of ascarid and non-ascarid eggs per gram of fresh rectal feces secured once every week, by the weight gains made by each animal, and by the number of Ascaris worms found upon visceral examination. The results obtained suggest that sodium fluoride at the rate of one per cent mixed in the feed every three weeks is a very satisfactory drug for killing Ascaris lumbricoides suis found in growing pigs raised on the ground. When fed repeatedly to growing pigs for periods of from 3 to 4 months it was effective in keeping the animals clean, with no toxic effects whatsoever. Phenothiazine at the rate of 0.2 gm. per pound of bodily weight administered every three weeks was found to be unreliable as an ascaricide. The data obtained during the two trials made suggest that sodium fluoride is specific against Ascaris lumbricoides suis