Mite-Fighting Drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new way to treat poultry for northern fowl mites, thanks in part to a team of researchers in the college.

Merck Animal Health developed the treatment, called EXZOLT, which needed to go through rigorous testing for FDA approval. As part of the study process, the Penn State team raised chicks, infested them with mites, and then treated them with the experimental product.

The researchers found that compared to the control, the treatment groups had more than 90 percent reduction in mites.

Erika Machtinger, associate professor of entomology and researcher on the project, said the product—which works by targeting the parasite's nervous system—is novel due to its delivery method.

"Current treatments are all topical, and mites have developed resistance to many of their active chemicals," Machtinger said. "This new treatment is a veterinary-prescribed drug that works systemically, so it gets to all parts of the bird. Think of it like those flea and tick chewable tablets people give their dogs. It's the same concept."

—Katie Bohn