Mebendazole for worming mice: effectiveness and side effects

Abstract

The use of mebendazole-treated diet (60 ppm) effectively controlled Hymenolepis nana and Aspiculuris tetraptera in a large mouse breeding colony. In a 3 generation pilot study using a medicated diet, there was some reduction in litter size and in female growth rate and an overall 2·07% incidence of kinky tails in the offspring. When the whole mouse colony was fed mebendazole-treated diet, a high incidence of kinky tails (maximum 46% of weaned offspring) occurred.