Treatment of rabbit cheyletiellosis with selamectin or ivermectin: a retrospective case study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A retrospective study of rabbits treated against cheyletiellosis was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of selamectin or ivermectin in clinical practice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical records from 53 rabbits with microscopically confirmed <it>Cheyletiella </it>infestation were collected from two small animal clinics. The rabbits were divided into three groups, based on treatment protocols. Group 1 included 11 rabbits treated with ivermectin injections at 200–476 μg kg^-1subcutaneously 2–3 times, with a mean interval of 11 days. In Group 2, 27 rabbits were treated with a combination of subcutaneous ivermectin injections (range 618–2185 μgkg^-1) and oral ivermectin (range 616–2732 μgkg^-1) administered by the owners, 3–6 times at 10 days interval. The last group (Group 3) included 15 rabbits treated with selamectin spot-on applications of 6.2–20,0 mgkg^-1, 1–3 times with an interval of 2–4 weeks. Follow-up time was 4 months–4.5 years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rabbits in remission were 9/11 (81,8%), 14/27 (51,9%) and 12/15 (80,8%) in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>All treatment protocols seemed to be sufficiently effective and safe for practice use. Though very high doses were used in Group 2 (ivermectin injections followed by oral administration), the protocol seemed less efficacious compared to ivermectin injections (Group 1) and selamectin spot on (Group 3), respectively, although not statistically significant. Controlled prospective studies including larger groups are needed to further evaluate efficacy of the treatment protocols.</p

Biomagnifcation and body distribution of ivermectin in dung beetles

We thank the staf of Doñana Biological Reserve (DBR-ICTS), Doñana National Park, and Los Alcornocales Natural Park, especially D. Paz, F. Ibáñez, P. Bayón, M. Malla and D. Ruiz for logistic facilities for the field work and permissions (2019107300000904/IRM/MDCG/mes) to collect cattle dung and dung beetles. We are grateful to J. Castro and A. Rascón for technical assistance. We also thank A. V. Giménez-Gómez for her technical assistance in the laboratory work. We thank also F.-T Krell and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Financial support was provided by the project CGL2015-68207-R of the Secretaría de Estado de Investigación–Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad.A terrestrial test system to investigate the biomagnifcation potential and tissue-specifc distribution of ivermectin, a widely used parasiticide, in the non-target dung beetle Thorectes lusitanicus (Jekel) was developed and validated. Biomagnifcation kinetics of ivermectin in T. lusitanicus was investigated by following uptake, elimination, and distribution of the compound in dung beetles feeding on contaminated faeces. Results showed that ivermectin was biomagnifed in adults of T. lusitanicus when exposed to non-lethal doses via food uptake. Ivermectin was quickly transferred from the gut to the haemolymph, generating a biomagnifcation factor (BMFk) three times higher in the haemolymph than in the gut after an uptake period of 12 days. The fat body appeared to exert a major role on the biomagnifcation of ivermectin in the insect body, showing a BMFk 1.6 times higher than in the haemolymph. The results of this study highlight that the biomagnifcation of ivermectin should be investigated from a global dung-based food web perspective and that the use of these antiparasitic substances should be monitored and controlled on a precautionary basis. Thus, we suggest that an additional efort be made in the development of standardised regulatory recommendations to guide biomagnifcation studies in terrestrial organisms, but also that it is necessary to adapt existing methods to assess the efects of such veterinary medical products

Assessment of the Anthelmintic Efficacy of Albendazole in School Children in Seven Countries Where Soil-Transmitted Helminths Are Endemic

Soil-transmitted helminths (roundworms, whipworms and hookworms) infect millions of children in (sub)tropical countries, resulting in malnutrition, growth stunting, intellectual retardation and cognitive deficits. Currently, there is a need to closely monitor anthelmintic drug efficacy and to develop standard operating procedures, as highlighted in a World Health Organization–World Bank meeting on “Monitoring of Drug Efficacy in Large Scale Treatment Programs for Human Helminthiasis” in Washington DC at the end of 2007. Therefore, we have evaluated the efficacy of a commonly used treatment against these parasitic infections in school children in Africa, Asia and South-America using a standardized protocol. In addition, different statistical approaches to analyzing the data were evaluated in order to develop standardized procedures for data analysis. The results demonstrate that the applied treatment was highly efficacious against round- and hookworms, but not against whipworms. However, there was large variation in efficacy across the different trials which warrants further attention. This study also provides new insights into the statistical analysis of efficacy data, which should be considered in future monitoring and evaluation studies of large scale anthelmintic treatment programs. Finally, our findings emphasize the need to update the World Health Organization recommended efficacy threshold for the treatment of STH

Protein binding and in vitro serum thromboxane B2 inhibition by flunixin meglumine and meclofenamic acid in dog, goat and horse blood

lunixin was highly protein bound in the serum of dogs (92.2 per cent), gents (84.8 per cent) and horses (86.9 per cent). Meclofenamic acid was also highly protein bound, although there were larger differences between the extent of the binding in dogs (90.3 per cent), goats (84.7 per cent) and horses (99.8 per cent). Both flunixin and meclofenamic acid were potent inhibitors of the in vitro generation of thromboxane (Tx) B-2 in blood. Flunixin inhibited the generation of TxB(2) by 50 per cent of the maximum response (IC50) in dog, goat and horse blood at concentrations of 0.10, 0.02 and 0.04 mu M respectively and by 100 per cent (Imaw) at 2.07, 0.14 and 2.07 mu M respectively. The IC50 values of meclofenamic acid in dogs, goats and horses were 0.77, 0.80 and 0.30 mu M respectively and the Imax values were 3.93, 3.63 and 3.56 mu M respectively. When the concentrations of flunixin were corrected for protein binding, it was estimated that the IC50 of the unbound fractions in dogs, goats and horses were 0.008, 0.003 and 0.005 mu M, respectively. Similarly corrected values for meclofenamic acid were 0.075. 0.122 and 0.001 mu M respectively.Peer reviewe

Anti-inflammatory effects of carprofen, carprofen enantiomer, and N-G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester in sheep

Objective-To assess anti-inflammatory effects of carprofen (CPF), CPF enantiomers, and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in sheep. Animals-8 sheep. Procedure-Sheep with SC tissue cages were used. After intracaveal injection of 1% carrageenan, sheep were given single doses of racemic (Rac; 50:50 mixture of S[+] and R[-] enantiomers)-CPF (4.0 mg/kg), R(-)CPF (2.0 mg/kg), S(+)CPF (2.0 mg/kg), L-NAME (25 mg/kg), and placebo (PLB) IV in a crossover design. Results-Rac-CPF and S(+)CPF inhibited serum thromboxane(2) (TXB(2)) and exudate prostaglandin (PG)E(2) generation significantly for 32 hours. Maximal inhibitory effect for serum TXB(2) was 79 +/- 3% for Rac-CPF and 68 +/- 6% for S(+)CPF The Rac-CPF and S(+)CPF induced 50 to 98% reversible inhibitory effect for exudate PGE(2) generation during a 4- to 32-hour period. The R(-)CPF and L-NAME attenuated serum TXB(2) generation significantly. The R(-)CPF did not affect exudate PGE(2) production, whereas L-NAME potentiated exudate, PGE(2) generation by 30% during 4 to 32 hours. The S(+)CPF and L-NAME increased leukotriene B(4) generation and WBC recruitment in exudate although significance was achieved only at a few time points. Increase in skin temperature over inflammatory cages was effectively inhibited by Rac-CPF and S(+)CPF but not by R(-)CPF Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Carprofen is a potent cyclooxygenase inhibitor in vivo in sheep, and its anti-inflammatory effects are attributable only to S(+)CPF in Rac-CPF. Nitric oxide may enhance eicosanoid production and accelerate the acute inflammatory process.Peer reviewe