Influence of topical therapy with the parasiticide Ivermectin on embryo transfer in mice

Abstract

It was necessary to treat a colony of several thousand transgenic and wild, type breeding mice for parasitic infestations. The suitability of the anti-parasitie agent, ivermectin, for controlling parasites in mice which are to be used for embryo transfer was investigated in a small preliminary study. There were no significant differences in plugging rate, number of embryos produced, number of implantations or number of resorptions between treated and untreated mice. Therefore the main colony of transgenic mice was treated with ivermectin to remove oxyurid worms and mites. The treatment was effective, since no parasites were found at a subsequent health screen, and there were no adverse effects such as diarrhoea or mis-mothering in treated mice. These results indicate that ivermeetin could be used in mice for transgenic studies without causing detrimental effects on either the mice or the experiment.