ABSTRACT
A controlled trial of the efficacy of several anthelmintic compounds as a combined therapy in the treatment of gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and Fasciola hepatica (F. hepatica) in naturally infected cattle was carried out. Twenty crossbred calves, 8-18 months old, were selected for inclusion in the trial based on finding eggs of F. hepatica and GIN in the faeces. They were blocked in four groups of five animals each according to GIN fecal egg counts on day 0. Treatments were sequentially allocated to animals in each block as follows: Group 1 served as non-treated control; Group 2 was treated with netobimin orally at 20 mg/kg; Group 3 received triclabendazole orally at 12 mg/kg and levamisole was applied intramuscularly at 5.5 mg/kg; Group 4 received clorsulon administered subcutaneously (s.c.) at 2 mg/kg and ivermectin s.c. at 200 microg/kg. Six to eight days after treatment the animals were euthanatized in order to collect and identify the parasites. Results showed a reduction of GIN by 87.3, 95.8 and 99.5% in Groups 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The percentage reduction of immature flukes was 0.0, 72.5, and 67.5% and for adult flukes 91.0, 97.5 and 100% for Groups 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Compounds indicated against nematodes showed high efficacy and products directed against F. hepatica acceptably removed adult flukes. However, efficacy against immature stages was generally not satisfactory.
Subject(s)
Anthelmintics/therapeutic use , Cattle Diseases/drug therapy , Fascioliasis/veterinary , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/veterinary , Nematode Infections/veterinary , Animals , Anthelmintics/pharmacology , Benzimidazoles/pharmacology , Benzimidazoles/therapeutic use , Cattle , Drug Therapy, Combination , Fasciola hepatica/drug effects , Fasciola hepatica/isolation & purification , Fascioliasis/drug therapy , Guanidines/therapeutic use , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/drug therapy , Ivermectin/pharmacology , Ivermectin/therapeutic use , Levamisole/pharmacology , Levamisole/therapeutic use , Nematode Infections/drug therapy , Parasite Egg Count/veterinary , Treatment Outcome , TriclabendazoleABSTRACT
The diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DIG-ELISA) for antibodies to Fasciola hepatica was evaluated using adult fluke excretory-secretory products as antigen. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were compared with those of the indirect hemagglutination (IHA) technique. The results of the DIG-ELISA showed that the reaction zone diameters obtained with 42 sera from sheep with natural or experimental exposure to F. hepatica were significantly greater than those obtained with 85 sera from ovines infected with other parasites. Both sensitivity and specificity were 100% in the DIG-ELISA, whereas the sensitivity was 68.2% and the specificity was 100% in the IHA. The data suggest that the DIG-ELISA is a valuable serodiagnostic test for sheep fascioliasis.
