Economic management of anthelmintic resistance: model and application*

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of anthelmintic (drench) resistance in gastrointestinal parasite populations is decreasing the profitability of the Australian sheep industry. Refugia management can delay its development by not exposing a proportion of the worm population to chemical control. A dynamic‐optimisation model is used to assess the economic value of refugia for management of the worm species Teladorsagia circumcincta and macrocyclic lactone drenches in an application to Western Australian sheep flocks. A low rate of refugia (2 per cent) is most profitable under standard circumstances because it slows the development of resistance, but also reduces the proportion of the flock not exposed to chemical control. Frequent drench application should remain the primary method of control. However, its efficacy should be preserved through refugia management, rather than greatly reducing treatment frequency.