Metaphylactic treatment strategies with toltrazuril and diclazuril and growth performance of buffalo calves exposed to a natural eimeria infection.

Five controlled field trials were conducted in southern Italy to evaluate the effect of metaphylactic treatment strategies of toltrazuril and diclazuril for the control of coccidiosis in water buffaloes naturally infected by Eimeria spp. The 5 farms were divided into two types (A and B) according to their management system (individual or collective breeding of buffalo calves). In the farms of type A (no. 3), the buffalo calves were bred in individual boxes from the birth to the 7th/8th week of age and then transferred to concrete based pens; in the farms of type B (no. 2) the calves were bred in groups on concrete based pens from the birth. On each farm, 36 calves aged 5 weeks were divided at random into three similar groups of 12. One group was treated with toltrazuril (TOL), the second group was treated with diclazuril (DIC) and the third group was remained as untreated control group (CONT). On each farm the calves were weighed weekly and clinically examined. In the 5 buffalo farms the average oocyst excretion decreased significantly in both the treated groups (TOL and DIC), however the TOL groups had significantly low counts than the DIC groups. The body-weight gains recorded fortnightly were significantly higher in the TOL groups (range=5.4-8.1 kg) compared to the DIC (range=1.7-3.1 kg).

Efficacy of toltrazuril 5 % suspension (Baycox®, Bayer) and diclazuril (Vecoxan®, Janssen-Cilag) in the control of Eimeria spp. in lambs.

Sheep coccidiosis is a pathology caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria spp. with clinical and economic effect especially in young animals (Ambrosi 1995; Pellérdy 1974). A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a metaphylactic treatment with toltrazuril 5 % suspension (Baycox®, Bayer) in comparison with diclazuril (Vecoxan®, Janssen-Cilag) and untreated controls against naturally acquired Eimeria infections in housed lambs. A total of 170 animals, aged 24 to 34 days and randomly divided in three homogeneous groups, were included in the study. The assessment of treatment efficacy was based on total faecal oocyst excretion (opg) and count reduction (FOCR) in the two groups of animals treated with toltrazuril (TOLT) and diclazuril (DICL) compared with untreated control group (C). The animals treated with toltrazuril showed a considerably lower mean opg to that of group C (5.78 opg versus 144.62 opg) (p < 0.05) and a FOCR of 97.7 %. The higher efficacy (99.23 %) was observed at 15 days post treatment; however, the average efficacy of the drug remained extremely high (> 90 %) for all the study. The lambs treated with diclazuril showed an intense, persistent oocyst excretion with average levels of 97.54 opg, (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates the good efficacy of toltrazuril administered orally to lambs in the prepatent period in subclinical natural Eimeria infections in housed lambs.

Influence of a metaphylactic treatment with Baycox(®) Bovis on the reproductive performances of Fresian heifers: a preliminary study.

A blind, randomised, controlled, multicentric field trial was conducted to assess the influence of a metaphylactic treatment with an oral solution of toltrazuril on some reproductive parameters of Italian Fresian heifers during the first 18-20 months of life. For this goal 40 calves were selected from two dairy farms and randomly divided into two homogeneous groups: MTol, treated with toltrazuril and NegC, left untreated. The calves were clinically and coprologically examined over the entire study period. The body condition scores, the body weights and the age at the first service were recorded and compared between the two groups, in addition to some other reproductive parameters including number of pregnancies, average service per pregnancy, conception rate, conception rate at first service and post first service conception rate. The analysis of the results showed that the metaphylactic treatment with toltrazuril influenced positively the average age of the first service (MTol 461.4 days versus NegC 485.45 days), the overall conception rate (MTol 95 % versus NegC 85 %), the success at first (MTol 60 % versus NegC 45 %) and second (MTol 75 % versus NegC 45 %) services and, consequently, the mean number of services to be carried out for each animal (MTol 1.4 ± 0.6 versus NegC 1.6 ± 0.79). Furthermore, the results confirmed that toltrazuril treatment, applied in accordance with the epidemiological aspects of each farm, is highly efficacious in persistent reduction of oocyst excretions with particular reference to Eimeria zuernii, Eimeria bovis, considered to be mainly responsible for clinical coccidiosis.