Abstract
BackgroundCystoisospora suis causes diarrhoeal disease and reduced weight gain in suckling piglets, and a toltrazuril-based oral suspension is available for treatment. Recently a combinatorial product with toltrazuril plus iron has been developed for parenteral application. In this study we compared the efficacy of the injectable product with the oral suspension against experimentally induced piglet cystoisosporosis.MethodsIn a randomised controlled study, three groups of piglets (n = 10–13) were treated either with a fixed dose of 45 mg toltrazuril + 200 mg gleptoferron i.m. per piglet (Forceris®) on the second day of life (study day 2; SD 2) or with 20 mg toltrazuril/kg body weight as an oral suspension (Baycox® 5%) on SD 4 or left untreated (Control group). The Baycox® and the Control group received 200 mg of iron dextran/piglet on SD 2. All piglets were infected with 1000 sporulated C. suis oocysts on SD 3. Faecal samples were taken daily from SD 7 to SD 20 to determine faecal consistency, oocyst shedding and other diarrhoeal pathogens. Body weight was recorded on SD 1 and then weekly until SD 29. Animals were observed daily for general health and after treatment for possible adverse events.ResultsIn the Control group all animals shed oocysts for 3.1 days on average and all animals showed diarrhoea for an average of five days. Excretion peaked on SD 9 (max. 48,618 oocysts per gram of faeces). Treatment with Forceris® completely suppressed oocyst excretion. In the Baycox® group, low levels of excretion could be detected. Diarrhoea was reduced to single piglets in the treated groups. Body weight development was reduced in the Control group compared to the treated groups. Enteropathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens) could be detected. All parameters related to oocyst excretion, faecal consistency and weight gain were significantly improved in the treated groups compared to the Control group without significant differences between the treated groups. Both products were safe to use.ConclusionsTreatment with both the injectable (Forceris®) and the oral (Baycox®) formulation of toltrazuril in the prepatent period were safe and highly effective against experimental infection with C. suis in newborn piglets.
Highlights
Cystoisospora suis causes diarrhoeal disease and reduced weight gain in suckling piglets, and a toltrazuril-based oral suspension is available for treatment
Forceris® is the first toltrazuril product to be marketed in an injectable formulation for the control of C. suis in piglets from the first day of life, and this study aimed to evaluate its efficacy against porcine coccidiosis in an experimental infection model [18] in comparison to an established reference product, an oral toltrazuril suspension (Baycox® 5%, Bayer Animal Health, Monheim, Germany)
The mean duration of oocyst excretion was 1.3 days in the Baycox® group and 3.1 days in the Control group (Table 1).The number of days with AF detectable excretion and the number of piglets that excreted AF detectable oocysts were significantly reduced in the Forceris® and Baycox® groups compared to the Control group without statistical difference between the treatment groups (Table 2)
Summary
Cystoisospora suis causes diarrhoeal disease and reduced weight gain in suckling piglets, and a toltrazuril-based oral suspension is available for treatment. The only effective chemotherapeutic drug available for treatment is the triazinetrione toltrazuril [11]. It is available as a 5% suspension to be applied as a single oral treatment during the third to fifth day of life. Oral treatment with toltrazuril is highly effective in controlling oocyst excretion and diarrhoea both in experimental and natural infections of suckling piglets [12,13,14,15,16,17]. Treatment is scheduled from the first to the third day of life (i.e. between 24 and 96 h after birth) as a single intramuscular injection of 1.5 ml/piglet corresponding to 45 mg of toltrazuril and 200 mg of iron
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