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Guedes AC, Conde-Felipe M, Barba E, Molina JM, Del Carmen Muñoz M, Ferrer O, Martín S, Hermosilla C, Taubert A, Ruiz A. Metaphylactic strategies using toltrazuril against coccidiosis in goat kids. Vet Parasitol 2024; 327:110133. [PMID: 38266373 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2024.110133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Goat coccidiosis compromises animal welfare, reduces productivity and may cause mortality and delayed growth rates in goat kids around the weaning period worldwide. This field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of metaphylactic treatments with two doses of toltrazuril (20 or 40 mg/kg body weight - BW, p. o.), at different timing, in kids naturally infected with Eimeria spp. A total of 97 healthy goat kids (Majorera milk aptitude breed) were divided into five groups, depending on the age of treatment (2 or 7 weeks). One group remained untreated as a negative control until the end of the study. Faecal oocyst shedding, faecal consistency, and body weight of the animals were monitored at day 0 and at weekly intervals. Counts of oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG) were determined by a modified McMaster technique. Morphometric identification of Eimeria species was carried out on individual faecal samples from each experimental group after oocyst sporulation. Goat kids treated at two weeks of age maintained OPG values close to zero during the 5 weeks post-treatment and, overall, had lower faecal oocyst counts than untreated control animals. No significant differences were observed between the two doses of toltrazuril used in two-week-old treated animals. By contrast, when treatment was carried out at seven weeks of age, the dose of 40 mg/kg BW of toltrazuril reduced oocyst levels for longer and to a greater extent than the 20 mg/kg dose. Irrespectively of the treatment and dose, toltrazuril delayed the appearance of pathogenic Eimeria species, i. e. Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae and Eimeria arloingi. As a whole, Eimeria christenseni, with a rather moderate pathogenicity, was highly predominant throughout the study period, including the untreated control group, which was probably the reason why clinical signs of coccidiosis were barely observed throughout the experiment. Under these circumstances, the positive effect of toltrazuril on body weight condition observed in some treated groups was difficult to correlate to the timing and doses. Metaphylactic treatments with 20 mg/kg BW toltrazuril given at two weeks of age are sufficient to control oocyst excretion in goat kids; whereas if administered later in 7-week-old animals, thereby coinciding with the frequently observed peak of oocyst elimination in goat kids under field conditions, a higher dose might be advisable to prevent environmental contamination with infectious oocysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aránzazu C Guedes
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - Magnolia Conde-Felipe
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain.
| | - Emilio Barba
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - José Manuel Molina
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - María Del Carmen Muñoz
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - Otilia Ferrer
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - Sergio Martín
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - Carlos Hermosilla
- Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg (BFS), Giessen, Germany
| | - Anja Taubert
- Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg (BFS), Giessen, Germany
| | - Antonio Ruiz
- Parasitology Unit, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
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