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Tielemans E, Erasmus H, Momberg M, Pfefferkorn A, Targa N, Chilakapati J, Gupta A. Safety evaluation of a novel topical combination of esafoxolaner, eprinomectin and praziquantel, in reproducing female cats. Parasite 2021; 28:20. [PMID: 33812452 PMCID: PMC8019565 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2021016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
NexGard® Combo, a novel topical endectoparasiticide product for cats, is a combination of esafoxolaner, eprinomectin and praziquantel. The safety of this novel combination administered to females during reproduction and lactation was evaluated per analysis of breeding parameters and adverse reactions observed on females and offspring. Females with successful breeding history were randomized to three groups, a placebo group and groups treated with the novel formulation at 1× or 3× multiples of the maximum exposure dose. Females were dosed at 28-day intervals, at least twice before mating, then during a period including mating, pregnancy, whelping and 56 days of lactation. In the placebo, 1× and 3× groups, 10, 9 and 10 females, respectively completed the study (nine, seven and nine females achieved pregnancy), and were dosed 7.1 times on average. Breeding parameters included success of mating, success of gestation, length of gestation, abortion rate, number of live, dead and stillborn kittens at birth, number of kittens with abnormalities, weight of kittens after birth and at weaning, growth of kittens, proportion of male and female kittens, and proportion of kittens born alive and weaned. No significant adverse reactions related to the novel combination were observed on females and on kittens; no significant and adverse effects on breeding parameters were observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Tielemans
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Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health 29 Avenue Tony Garnier 69007 Lyon France
| | - Heidi Erasmus
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Clinvet International (Pty) Ltd. P.O. Box 11186 Universitas 9321 Bloemfontein Republic of South Africa
| | - Mandie Momberg
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Clinvet International (Pty) Ltd. P.O. Box 11186 Universitas 9321 Bloemfontein Republic of South Africa
| | - Anthony Pfefferkorn
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Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health 29 Avenue Tony Garnier 69007 Lyon France
| | - Norba Targa
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Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health 3239 Satellite Blvd Duluth 30096 GA USA
| | - Jaya Chilakapati
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Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health 3239 Satellite Blvd Duluth 30096 GA USA
| | - Aradhana Gupta
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Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health 3239 Satellite Blvd Duluth 30096 GA USA
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Chiweshe SM, Steketee PC, Jayaraman S, Paxton E, Neophytou K, Erasmus H, Labuschagne M, Cooper A, MacLeod A, Grey FE, Morrison LJ. Parasite specific 7SL-derived small RNA is an effective target for diagnosis of active trypanosomiasis infection. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007189. [PMID: 30779758 PMCID: PMC6413958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Human and animal African trypanosomiasis (HAT & AAT, respectively) remain a significant health and economic issue across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Effective control of AAT and potential eradication of HAT requires affordable, sensitive and specific diagnostic tests that can be used in the field. Small RNAs in the blood or serum are attractive disease biomarkers due to their stability, accessibility and available technologies for detection. Using RNAseq, we have identified a trypanosome specific small RNA to be present at high levels in the serum of infected cattle. The small RNA is derived from the non-coding 7SL RNA of the peptide signal recognition particle and is detected in the serum of infected cattle at significantly higher levels than in the parasite, suggesting active processing and secretion. We show effective detection of the small RNA in the serum of infected cattle using a custom RT-qPCR assay. Strikingly, the RNA can be detected before microscopy detection of parasitaemia in the blood, and it can also be detected during remission periods of infection when no parasitaemia is detectable by microscopy. However, RNA levels drop following treatment with trypanocides, demonstrating accurate prediction of active infection. While the small RNA sequence is conserved between different species of trypanosome, nucleotide differences within the sequence allow generation of highly specific assays that can distinguish between infections with Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma vivax. Finally, we demonstrate effective detection of the small RNA directly from serum, without the need for pre-processing, with a single step RT-qPCR assay. Our findings identify a species-specific trypanosome small RNA that can be detected at high levels in the serum of cattle with active parasite infections. This provides the basis for the development of a cheap, non-invasive and highly effective diagnostic test for trypanosomiasis. African trypanosomes cause significant disease in humans and animals across sub-Saharan Africa. For both human and animal infections diagnostics that can accurately identify an active infection are lacking–this is particularly the case in animal disease where most diagnosis is based upon clinical signs, which is not a specific or sensitive means of detecting infection. There is therefore a significant unmet need for a pathogen marker of active infection that accurately indicates whether an animal or human is currently infected. Through analysing the blood of cattle infected with trypanosomes, we identified a short sequence of RNA that was present at very high levels. This small RNA derives from the trypanosome genome, and we could identify its presence in the genome of all three species that are responsible for human and animal disease. We were able to design species-specific tests, and showed that in samples from infected animals the assays were more sensitive than the traditional microscope-based detection, importantly the signal disappeared relatively quickly after successful treatment, and when treatment failed, the assay was able to accurately identify when infection persisted. We also demonstrated that the causative agent of human trypanosomiasis secretes the marker at similar levels to that seen in the animal-infective trypanosomes. Therefore, we have discovered a marker of trypanosome infection that is present at high levels in the blood of infected animals, disappears quickly upon successful treatment, but is effective at detecting instances of unsuccessful treatment and persistent infection. This represents a potentially powerful diagnostic tool for human and animal trypanosomiasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M Chiweshe
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Pieter C Steketee
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Siddharth Jayaraman
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Edith Paxton
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Kyriaki Neophytou
- Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Heidi Erasmus
- Clinvet Research Innovation, Uitzich Road, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Michel Labuschagne
- Clinvet Research Innovation, Uitzich Road, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Anneli Cooper
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Bearsden Road, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Annette MacLeod
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Bearsden Road, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Finn E Grey
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Liam J Morrison
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, United Kingdom
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Jongejan F, Crafford D, Erasmus H, Fourie JJ, Schunack B. Comparative efficacy of oral administrated afoxolaner (NexGard™) and fluralaner (Bravecto™) with topically applied permethrin/imidacloprid (Advantix(®)) against transmission of Ehrlichia canis by infected Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks to dogs. Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:348. [PMID: 27317101 PMCID: PMC4912781 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1636-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The ability of the topical spot-on Advantix® (50 % permethrin/10 % imidacloprid) to prevent transmission of Ehrlichia canis by infected Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks to dogs has previously been reported. The recent market introduction of chewable tablets containing the novel compounds, afoxolaner (NexGard™) and fluralaner (Bravecto™) enabled us to conduct a comparative efficacy study with respect to the ability of these three products to block transmission of E. canis by ticks to dogs. The speed of kill, immediate drop-off rate and anti-attachment efficacy of the respective products were also studied. Methods The study was a blinded parallel group design, wherein 32 dogs were randomised into four different groups of eight dogs. Group 1 served as negative placebo control, group 2 and 3 were treated on Days 0, 28 and 56 with NexGard™ and Advantix®, respectively. Group 4 was dosed once on Day 0 with Bravecto™. For tick efficacy assessments 50 non-infected ticks were placed onto the dogs on Days 30, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77 and 84 and on animal tick counts were performed at 3 h, 6 h and 12 h after infestation. To evaluate the ability to block transmission of E. canis, each dog was challenged by releasing 80 adult E. canis-infected R. sanguineus ticks into their sleeping kennels on Days 31, 38, 45 and 52. The animals were monitored for clinical signs of monocytic ehrlichiosis (pyrexia and thrombocytopenia) and were tested for E. canis DNA by PCR and for specific antibodies using IFA. A dog was considered infected with E. canis if both PCR and IFA yielded positive test results up to Day 84. Results Mean arithmetic tick counts on dogs treated with the Advantix® spot-on were significantly (P < 0.0005) lower throughout the study as compared with the negative controls and was, with respect to the speed of kill and resulting onset of acaricidal efficacy, superior over NexGard™ and Bravecto™ at all time points in the 12 h period observed (3 h, 6 h and 12 h). None of the dogs treated with the Advantix® spot-on became infected with E. canis, whereas six out of eight untreated control dogs acquired the infection. Furthermore, E. canis infection was diagnosed in four out of eight dogs treated with NexGard™ and in two out of eight dogs treated with Bravecto™. Conclusions The speed of kill of the two recently registered systemic compounds against R. sanguineus was not sufficiently fast to prevent transmission of E. canis and resulted in only low partial blocking and protection capacity while Advantix® effectively blocked transmission of E. canis to dogs in the challenge period and thus provided adequate protection for dogs against monocytic ehrlichiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frans Jongejan
- Utrecht Centre for Tick-borne Diseases (UCTD), FAO Reference Centre for Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584 CL, Utrecht, The Netherlands. .,Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
| | - Dionne Crafford
- Clinvet International (Pty) Ltd, Uitzich Road, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa.,Zoology Department, University of Johannesburg, Corner of Kingsway and University Roads, Aucklandpark, South Africa
| | - Heidi Erasmus
- Clinvet International (Pty) Ltd, Uitzich Road, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Josephus J Fourie
- Clinvet International (Pty) Ltd, Uitzich Road, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
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Becskei C, Geurden T, Erasmus H, Cuppens O, Mahabir SP, Six RH. Comparative speed of kill after treatment with Simparica™ (sarolaner) and Advantix®(imidacloprid + permethrin) against induced infestations of Dermacentor reticulatus on dogs. Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:104. [PMID: 26911323 PMCID: PMC4765083 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1377-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ticks are common ectoparasites that infest dogs globally. Acaricides with rapid and sustained speed of kill are critical to control infestations and to reduce the risk of disease transmission. This study evaluated the speed of kill for 5 weeks after a single dose of orally administered Simparica™ (sarolaner) against induced infestations with Dermacentor reticulatus on dogs, compared to Advantix® Spot-on solution for dogs (imidacloprid + permethrin). METHODS Twenty four dogs were randomly allocated to treatment with either a placebo tablet, a sarolaner tablet (at 2 to 4 mg/kg) or with Advantix® as per label instructions. Dogs were treated on Day 0 and tick counts were performed in situ at 8 and 12 hours and with removal of the ticks at 24 hours after treatment and subsequent re-infestations on Days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Acaricidal efficacy was determined at each time point relative to live tick counts from the placebo-treated dogs. RESULTS Based on arithmetic (geometric) mean tick counts, the efficacy of sarolaner was ≥75.6 % (89.6 %) within 8 hours of treatment and tick counts were significantly lower than placebo and imidacloprid + permethrin-treated dogs (P < 0.0001), while imidacloprid + permethrin had no significant reduction (P ≥ 0.3990) at 8 or 12 hours after treatment. Sarolaner killed all ticks on the dogs within 24 hours after treatment, while imidacloprid + permethrin efficacy was only 48.1 %. After weekly re-infestations sarolaner significantly reduced the tick counts versus placebo within 8 hours on Days 7, 14 and 35 (P ≤ 0.0239), and at 12 hours and 24 hours (P ≤ 0.0079) until Day 35.Sarolaner efficacy was ≥95.8 % within 24 hours for 35 days. Significantly more live ticks (P ≤ 0.0451) were recovered from imidacloprid + permethrin-treated dogs than from sarolaner-treated dogs at 24 hours after infestation on all days. There were no sarolaner-related adverse reactions during the study. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that Simparica™ had a faster and more consistent speed of kill against D. reticulatus compared to Advantix®. The rapid and consistent efficacy within 24 hours for 5 weeks after a single oral dose of Simparica™ provides effective and reliable control of D. reticulatus and reduces the risk of transmission of tick-borne diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Csilla Becskei
- Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, Mercuriusstraat 20, Zaventem, B-1930, Belgium.
| | - Thomas Geurden
- Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, Mercuriusstraat 20, Zaventem, B-1930, Belgium.
| | - Heidi Erasmus
- ClinVet International (pty) Ltd, Uitsigweg, Bainsvlei 9338, Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa.
| | - Otto Cuppens
- Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, Mercuriusstraat 20, Zaventem, B-1930, Belgium.
| | - Sean P Mahabir
- Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, 333 Portage St., Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, USA.
| | - Robert H Six
- Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, 333 Portage St., Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, USA.
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Beugnet F, Halos L, Larsen D, Labuschagné M, Erasmus H, Fourie J. The ability of an oral formulation of afoxolaner to block the transmission of Babesia canis by Dermacentor reticulatus ticks to dogs. Parasit Vectors 2014; 7:283. [PMID: 24957215 PMCID: PMC4078974 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2014] [Accepted: 06/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Canine babesiosis due to Babesia canis is an endemic disease in many European countries. A vaccine is available in some countries, but it does not prevent the infection and just helps in reducing the gravity of clinical signs. Therefore, the major way to help preventing the disease is by controlling tick infestations on dogs. To assess the preventive efficacy of afoxolaner (NexGard®), a new oral anti- flea and tick product, against Babesia canis infected adult Dermacentor reticulatus in an experimentally controlled study. Methods Sixteen healthy mixed breed adult dogs, negative for Babesia canis antibodies were included in a single centre, randomized, blinded and controlled study to evaluate the impact of treatment with afoxolaner on the transmission of Babesia canis to dogs exposed to Dermacentor reticulatus. The dogs were randomly allocated into two groups of 8 dogs each. One group remained untreated. In the other group, dogs were treated orally with a novel formulation of afoxolaner (NexGard®) on day 0. All dogs were infested each by 50 adult Dermacentor reticulatus ticks (equal sex ratio) at days 7, 14, 21 and 28. The Dermacentor reticulatus ticks were confirmed to harbour Babesia canis by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Results The treatment was well tolerated by all dogs without any adverse effects. Babesia canis was transmitted by D. reticulatus to all untreated control dogs, confirmed following demonstration of hyperthermia, detection of B. canis parasites in blood smears and PCR assay from blood and serology. These confirmed infected dogs were subsequently treated with imidocarb and diminazene. The treated dogs remained negative based on all criteria until the last study, Day 56, confirming that the oral treatment of dogs with NexGard® prevented transmission of Babesia canis and development of clinical babesiosis for up to 28 days. Conclusion This is the first demonstration that an oral acaricidal treatment may prevent the transmission of a pathogen despite the need for the tick to attach and start feeding before being killed by the acaricide.
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Tran T, Napier G, Rowan T, Cordel C, Labuschagne M, Delespaux V, Van Reet N, Erasmus H, Joubert A, Büscher P. Development and evaluation of an ITS1 "Touchdown" PCR for assessment of drug efficacy against animal African trypanosomosis. Vet Parasitol 2014; 202:164-70. [PMID: 24685024 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2014.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2013] [Revised: 02/26/2014] [Accepted: 03/01/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Animal African trypanosomoses (AAT) are caused by flagellated protozoa of the Trypanosoma genus and contribute to considerable losses in animal production in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia. Trypanosoma congolense is considered the economically most important species. Drug resistant T. congolense strains present a threat to the control of AAT and have triggered research into discovery of novel trypanocides. In vivo assessment of trypanocidal efficacy relies on monitoring of treated animals with microscopic parasite detection methods. Since these methods have poor sensitivity, follow-up for up to 100 days after treatment is recommended to increase the chance of detecting recurrent parasitaemia waves. Molecular techniques are more amendable to high throughput processing and are generally more sensitive than microscopic detection, thus bearing the potential of shortening the 100-day follow up period. The study presents a "Touchdown" PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 of the ribosomal DNA (ITS1 TD PCR) that enables detection and discrimination of different Trypanosoma taxa in a single run due to variations in PCR product sizes. The assay achieves analytical sensitivity of 10 parasites per ml of blood for detection of T. congolense savannah type and T. brucei, and 100 parasites per ml of blood for detection of T. vivax in infected mouse blood. The ITS1 TD PCR was evaluated on cattle experimentally infected with T. congolense during an investigational new veterinary trypanocide drug efficacy study. ITS1 TD PCR demonstrated comparable performance to microscopy in verifying trypanocide treatment success, in which parasite DNA became undetectable in cured animals within two days post-treatment. ITS1 TD PCR detected parasite recrudescence three days earlier than microscopy and had a higher positivity rate than microscopy (84.85% versus 57.58%) in 66 specimens of relapsing animals collected after treatments. Therefore, ITS1 TD PCR provides a useful tool in assessment of drug efficacy against T. congolense infection in cattle. As the assay bears the potential for detection of mixed infections, it may be applicable for drug efficacy studies and diagnostic discrimination of T. vivax and T. congolense against other pathogenic trypanosomes, including T. brucei, T. evansi and T. equiperdum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thao Tran
- Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), Doherty Building, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Edinburgh EH26 0PZ, UK; Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Grant Napier
- Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), Doherty Building, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Edinburgh EH26 0PZ, UK
| | - Tim Rowan
- Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), Doherty Building, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Edinburgh EH26 0PZ, UK
| | - Claudia Cordel
- ClinVet International (Pty) Ltd., Uitzigweg, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Michel Labuschagne
- ClinVet International (Pty) Ltd., Uitzigweg, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Vincent Delespaux
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nick Van Reet
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Heidi Erasmus
- ClinVet International (Pty) Ltd., Uitzigweg, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Annesca Joubert
- ClinVet International (Pty) Ltd., Uitzigweg, Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Philippe Büscher
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
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Erasmus H, Spamer EJ. Effect of a prevention programme on the incidence of rugby injuries among 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys. S Afr j sports med 2007. [DOI: 10.17159/2078-516x/2007/v19i2a265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of an injury prevention programme on the incidence of rugby injuries (overall, intrinsic and extrinsic
injuries) among 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys, over a 2- year period. A secondary aim was to identify the percentage of intrinsic rugby injuries associated with a previous
injury history.
Design. A non-equivalent experimental-control group design with multiple post-tests.
Subjects. A- and B-team rugby players (N =120) from 2 secondary schools in the North West province of South Africa.
Intervention. The injury prevention programme was planned according to the physical, motor, biomechanical and postural status of all players. Players in the experimental
group received exercises to improve biomechanical and postural deficits identified, as well as drills to address shortcomings in speed, agility, and explosive power.
Main outcome measures. Rugby injuries were screened and injury data collected through the use of weekly sportsmedicine clinics.
Results. Differences and changes in extrinsic injury incidence in this study could not be attributed to the effect of the prevention programme, and as a result injury trends
related to overall injury incidence were inconsistent when the matching experimental and control groups were compared. However, the prevention programme did have a
positive effect on the intrinsic injury incidence of both the 15- (d = 1.61) and 16-year-old (d = 0.83) groups during the study period. During the second season there were no
intrinsic injuries of a previous nature among both the experimental groups (0%), while in contrast intrinsic injuries of a previous nature still amounted to a significant fraction
in both the control groups.
Conclusion. The present intervention programme did not have a practically significant effect on the incidence of overall rugby injuries and extrinsic rugby injuries in 15- and
16-year-old schoolboys over a 2-year period. However, in practice the prevention programme did have a significantly positive effect on the incidence of intrinsic rugby injuries
among 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys over a period of 2 years. Timely introduction of this programme during the off-season is advised. South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 19 (2) 2007: pp. 46-51
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