Oorsig/Review
do you need to feed? But the story that these
products KILL parasites is not true! Just my
humble opinion!
JB – 12 Feb 2014
There is a firm belief, also in the wildlife industry,
that aloes, especially Aloe excelasa, control/ kill
worms and that antelope that eat these aloes
have fewer ticks. Again, merely observations, no
concrete proof. One aspect of aloes is that they
are extremely 'hungry feeders', and in the wild
they grow in places where the mineral content
is high, i.e. on fertile soil. I have often wondered
if they do not absorb large quantities of these
minerals and if this is not the reason why animals
eat aloes, especially where there is not a 'brak'
where they can lick.
Diatoms are unicellular organisms, related to
the algae, and they have an outer cell wall that is
composed almost exclusively of silicon. So, what
their nutritional value is escapes me, especially
stuff that is fed to animals, diatomaceous earth,
that is completely dehydrated fossilized remains
of these algae.
Some of the older ruralvets may remember using
diatomaceous earth as filter material in their
swimming pool filters.....for what it is worth.
GV - 13 Mar 2017
Dear veterinary colleagues
I read all the comments that Faffa sent on from
RuralVet, Dr Strydom and Dr Snyman.
Some very brief background:
I laid charges against companies that marketed
diatomaceous earth as endectocides and
ectoparasiticides
without
the
required
registration as such. Izak Maritz eventually
registered his silicified plankton as an animal
feed supplement with a V registration. I have no
problem with that, but the moment they claim
parasiticide characteristics I will nail them again.
About three other people also got the stick after I
laid charges and withdrew their products.
The Eko Waterkripdosering is right out of Star
Wars: it cures any disease and all parasites on
all live vertebrates. I bought myself some of this
wonder remedy and ate a tablet. I can assure you
I have no parasites left after I ate it, but I also had
no parasites before I ate it! Does it work? No one
knows because the manufacturer cannot name the
esteemed veterinarian who was the consultant.
Yet the MCC gladly accepted an application for
it to be registered as a complimentary medicine
under Act 101/1965 which prompted the
manufacturer to use that reference number as
a registration number. I laid charges against the
24
manufacturer FOUR times and the case is now the
NPA. Nothing more I can or want to do.
What we need to do is sit back and relax and let
these folks sell their snake spit to farmers – once
there is a really good outbreak of parasites, the
farmers will understand the value of registered
anthelmintics and ectoparasiticides. Let them
threaten us with legal action if we speak out,
because we do not contravene any act, we merely
affirm Act No. 36 of 1947.
Best wishes.
Dr Gerhard H Verdoorn: Director GRIFFON
POISON INFORMATION CENTRE
(not a veterinarian! but working with the
veterinary industry)
JvR – 27 Jun 2017
In my experience (Jo’burg zoo and game farming
in the Karoo) the anthelmintic problem in non-
domestic species under stress can best be
managed with nutrition.
NN - 28 June 2017
I see that back in 2010 there was talk of efficacy
trials of diatoms for internal parasites, still no new
publications? I realise that there is publication
bias against negative results i.e. if a trial of a
proposed new treatment yields significant results
the trial is thought to be more "sexy" and is more
likely to see the light of day, but I don't see much
on either side. Fernandez, M. I.; Woodward, B. W.;
Stromberg, B. E. (1998). "Effect of diatomaceous
earth as an anthelmintic treatment on internal
parasites and feedlot performance of beef steers".
Animal Science. 66 (3): 635–641.
Anecdotal evidence is the lowest form of evidence
but still counts for something in a vacuum. Any
anecdotes of failure of diatomaceous earth to
control internal parasites? The reason for my
interest is that I have game farmers (or rather
beef farmers with game in small camps) who are
requesting in-feed anthelminthics. I think I would
do less harm by selling them a placebo, but would
rather sell something that helped (obviously
in combination with advice regarding stocking
densities etc). Given that we want to rely less on
anthelminthics, and given the dearth of reliable
evidence, am I a charlatan to sell diatomaceous
earth in this scenario?
JB – 28 Jun 2017
Neil, there are many articles on the web that deal
with diatomaceous earth or diatomite, most of
which indicate that it has no effect on the worms,
and that one has to be careful of the other minerals
that are incorporated in the silicon skeletons,