Efficacy of milbemycin oxime/afoxolaner chewable tablets (NEXGARD SPECTRA®) against Capillaria aerophila and Capillaria boehmi in naturally infected dogs.

BACKGROUND: Capillaria aerophila and Capillaria boehmi parasitize the respiratory system of wild and domestic carnivores. Capillaria aerophila inhabits the trachea and bronchi of dogs and cats, while C. boehmi affects the nasal cavities and sinuses of dogs. In dogs the infection may be subclinical or characterized by varying respiratory distress. METHODS: The present study evaluated the efficacy of an oral formulation containing milbemycin oxime and afoxolaner (NEXGARD SPECTRA®) in dogs naturally infected with C. aerophila and/or C. boehmi from three enzootic areas of Italy. Dogs were enrolled pending fecal examination and molecular confirmation of respiratory capillarioses. Dogs were allocated in two groups: Group 1 (G1, 25 dogs), treated with a negative control product with no anthelmintic activity (afoxolaner, NEXGARD®), and Group 2 (G2, 26 dogs), treated with NEXGARD SPECTRA®. At the day of treatment administration (Day 0), all dogs were clinically examined. Dogs were again subjected to clinical and fecal examinations at Days 28 (± 4) and 56 (± 2). The primary criterion for treatment efficacy was the reduction of fecal Capillaria egg counts in G2 compared with G1. The regression of/recovery from baseline clinical signs was considered as a further efficacy criterion. RESULTS: Percentage reduction of fecal Capillaria egg counts in the NEXGARD SPECTRA® group compared to the control group was > 97% on Day 28 and 100% on Day 56, respectively (p < 0.05 for both time points). Twelve of the 13 dogs in the NEXGARD SPECTRA® group with respiratory signs prior to treatment were free of clinical signs at the end of the study. Conversely, the six control group dogs with respiratory signs prior to treatment remained symptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study showed that NEXGARD SPECTRA® was safe and highly efficacious in the reduction of C. aerophila and C. boehmi eggs after one treatment with a complete reduction of the egg output after the second administration associated with a recovery from respiratory signs.

An indigenous case of intestinal capillariasis with protein-losing enteropathy in Korea.

We encountered an indigenous case of intestinal capillariasis with protein-losing enteropathy in the Republic of Korea. A 37-year-old man, residing in Sacheon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, admitted to the Gyeongsang National University Hospital (GNUH) due to long-lasting diarrhea, abdominal pain, anasarca, and weight loss. He recalled that he frequently ate raw fish, especially the common blackish goby (Acanthogobius flavimanus) and has never been abroad. Under the suspicion of protein-losing enteropathy, he received various kinds of medical examinations, and was diagnosed as intestinal capillariasis based on characteristic sectional findings of nematode worms in the biopsied small intestine. Adults, juvenile worms, and eggs were also detected in the diarrheic stools collected before and after medication. The clinical symptoms became much better after treatment with albendazole 400 mg daily for 3 days, and all findings were in normal range in laboratory examinations performed after 1 month. The present study is the 6th Korean case of intestinal capillariasis and the 3rd indigenous one in the Republic of Korea.

Efficacy and safety of imidacloprid 10%/moxidectin 1% spot-on formulation in the treatment of feline infection by Capillaria aerophila.

The nematode Capillaria aerophila (Trichuroidea, Trichuridae) affects the respiratory system of cats and other animals and occasionally of human beings. Infected cats may show bronchovesicular sounds, inflammation, sneezing, wheezing and, chronic cough and, sometimes, bronchopneumonia and respiratory failure. The present study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the antiparasitic spot-on formulation containing imidacloprid 10%/moxidectin 1 % (Advocate®, Bayer Animal Health) in the treatment of natural feline infection with the lungworm C. aerophila. The efficacy of Advocate® administered once was tested on days 7 ± 1 and 11 ± 1 following treatment at day 0 and compared to faecal egg counts on days -6 ± 1 and -2 ± 1. Overall, 36 cats treated either with Advocate® (treatment group, n = 17 cats) or left untreated (control group, n = 19 cats) were included in the study. Geometric means of faecal egg counts values in eggs per gram of faeces were 124.03 prior to treatment and 0.26 posttreatment in treatment group, while 107.03 and 123.94 pre- and posttreatment in the untreated cats. Post-baseline egg counts showed a 99.79 % reduction in Advocate®-treated animals in comparison with cats which were left untreated. Also, treated cats showed no adverse events. This trial demonstrated that Advocate® spot-on formulation is safe and effective in the treatment of feline lung capillariosis caused by C. aerophila.

Capillaria philippinensis in Upper Egypt: has it become endemic?

The goal of this study was to present an overview of human infections with Capillaria philippinensis, a new emerging parasite in Upper Egypt. The study included 21 inpatients who had been admitted to the Assiut University Hospital. Patients suffered from intermittent abdominal pain, borborygmi, chronic diarrhea lasting for several weeks, and marked weight loss. Hypoalbuminemia and low serum levels of potassium, calcium, and sodium were detected in most patients. A stool examination was performed using direct smears and the formalin-ether concentration method. Intact adult worms and/or eggs were evaluated using a light microscope and processed for scanning electron microscopy. The examination by light microscopy illustrated the general morphology of different stages. Using scanning electron microscopy, intestinal villi were found partially covering the cuticle of the adult worms, which provided evidence for the invasion of adult worms into the jejunal mucosa. Two distinct types of eggs, thick-shelled and thin-shelled, were identified and measured.

Capillaria hepatica in man--an overview of hepatic capillariosis and spurious infections.

Capillaria hepatica (syn. for Calodium hepaticum) is a zoonotic nematode parasitizing in the livers of rodents as main hosts and in numerous other mammals including humans. It is the causative agent of the rare conditions of hepatic capillariosis and spurious C. hepatica infections in humans. In this review, 163 reported cases of infestations with this parasite (72 reports of hepatic capillariosis, 13 serologically confirmed infestations and 78 observations of spurious infections) are summarized with an overview on the distribution, symptoms, pathology, diagnosis, serology and therapy of this rare human pathogen.

Efficacy of ivermectin (Ivomec) against intestinal capulariosis in falcons.

52 captive falcons out of 3,988 (1.3 %) raptors microscopically examined for intestinal parasites in the Middle East proved infested with hairworms (capillariid parasites). 26 of these (50 %) showed concurrent parasitoses. In the group of 26 falcons diagnosed with capillariosis as sole infestation (50 %) compatible clinical signs such as anorexia, weight loss, weakness, dyspnoea, regurgitation of food and blood, diarrhoea and dark tarry faeces, were recorded. These birds were treated intramuscularly with ivermectin at doses of 2 mg/kg. In fecal samples examined 10-15 days later, the eggs of capillariid parasites had disappeared, in association with complete clinical recovery.

Moxidectin as an endectocide in reindeer.

During the winter 1991-92, 42 reindeer hinds of the Kaamanen Experimental Reindeer Herd in Finnish Lapland, naturally infected with various parasites, were allocated to 3 groups. One group was an untreated control group and the other 2 groups received either moxidectin or ivermectin at a dose of 200 micrograms kg-1 subcutaneously. The efficacy of treatment was followed with monthly faecal examinations for nematode eggs and counting of warbles, Hypoderma tarandi larvae, and throat bots, Cephenemyia trompe larvae, from live animals in spring. The efficacy of moxidectin against warbles (92.8%) and throat bots (70.8%) did not match that of ivermectin, which was 100% against both species. Both moxidectin and ivermectin were effective against gastrointestinal trichostrongylid egg production over the December to May trial period indicating good efficacy against adult and inhibited trichostrongylids. Only non-significant differences were seen in weight development and calf birth weights between the groups. Because of its only moderate insecticidal efficacy, moxidectin cannot be recommended as an endectocide in reindeer.

Anthelmintic treatment to eradicate cutaneous capillariasis in a colony of South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis).

The nematode Capillaria xenopodis (Pseudocapillaroides xenopi), a skin parasite of South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis), is quite common in laboratory animal facilities. It causes serious skin changes and may further lead to wasting and death of affected frogs. Various treatment protocols, using the anthelmintics ivermectin and levamisole, were successively tested for practicability of elimination of the parasite from a colony of clawed frogs. Nematodes were reduced below diagnostic levels by various methods of application of ivermectin (orally or by injection into the dorsal lymph sac, twice at intervals of 10 to 14 days). However, nematodes were found again in the treated animals 1 to 3 months later. Treatment by use of ivermectin-medicated tank water is not feasible due to its low water solubility. Elimination of the parasite was reliably achieved by use of levamisole-medicated tank water. Relapses were not seen during the 18-month posttreatment observation period. Levamisole concentration was 12 mg/L of water, with 4.17, 5.00, or 6.25 L of tank water/frog, and 50, 60, or 75 mg of levamisole available/frog, for at least 4 days, with treatments repeated after 10 to 14 days. Results were reproducible in two trials each with five tanks containing, in turn, four or five frogs each. A treatment trial carried out with a group of 20 adult frogs exposed to 12 mg of levamisole/L of tank water, but with only 2.5 L of tank water/frog (i.e., only 30 mg of levamisole available/animal), was not effective in eradicating the parasites. Not only the drug concentration, but also the amount of drug available per animal seems to be of importance. In contrast to thiabendazole, which is often reported in literature as treatment for cutaneous capillariasis, negative side effects were not observed with use of levamisole.

Drug treatment of experimental Capillaria hepatica infection in mice.

This report presents the results obtained using 14 anthelmintic compounds that were tested in experimental white mice of the Swiss-Webster strain for their action against Capilaria hepatica. Four of the drugs effectively prevented deposition of C. hepatica ova in mouse liver. The doses at which these four drugs prevented greater than 99% of egg deposition were: albendazole, 30 mg/kg; febantel, 30 mg/kg; mebendazole, 3.13 mg/kg; and oxfendazole, 12.5 mg/kg. Of these, mebendazole is the only agent for which the application of five daily doses of 3.13 mg/kg lay within the dose range recommended for man.

Hepatic capillariasis in a 1-year-old child.

We described the 2nd European case of hepatic capillariasis. The diagnosis of this parasitosis caused by Capillaria hepatica was made by needle biopsy of the liver in a 1-year-old girl who presented with a triad of persistent fever, hepatomegaly and hypereosinophilia. The child recovered completely after treatment with thiabendazole (Mintezol, Merck, Sharp and Dohme, Hoddeston, UK).

Ivermectin treatment of urinary capillariasis in a dog.

Eggs of Capillaria plica were found by microscopic examination of urine sediment from a 5-year-old female Border Terrier with signs of cystitis. Two courses of oral fenbendazole treatment failed to eliminate the infection or to alleviate clinical signs of cystitis; however, a single dose of ivermectin apparently resulted in complete parasitologic and clinical cure.