Abstract
Isometamidium chloride has been used for the control of trypanosomosis in animals for over 36 years, but recently there have been reports of prophylaxis failure under natural conditions. In this study, use of the drug for prophylactic purpose against trypanosomosis in small ruminants was investigated. Forty-two sheep and 44 goats were divided into four treatment groups. Groups 1 and 2 were treated with isometamidium chloride (Samorin, Rhone Merieux, Lyon, France) at 3-month intervals while groups 3 and 4 were used as controls. All the animals were exposed to natural tsetse challenge and monitored for serum isometamidium levels and anti-trypanosome antibodies. Seven days after drug administration, isometamidium levels were significantly higher in goats 13.7+/-0.07 ng/ml than in sheep 6.2+/-0.06 ng/ml. However, the elimination half-life in the sheep was 14.2+/-0.92 days and was significantly higher (P> 0.05) than that of the goats 12+/-0.5 days. This study established that isometamidium metabolism differs between sheep and goats and this difference may have important implications in high tsetse challenge areas.
Highlights
Trypanosomosis in animals is a major constraint to livestock production in large areas of sub-Saharan Africa (Spath 2000)
Anti-trypanosome antibodies All the control sheep and goats were negative for anti-trypanosome antibodies while 10 % and 14 % of the isometamidium treated goats and sheep, respectively, were positive prior to the start of the experiments, indicating previous exposure to trypanosome infections
The current study has established that serum isometamidium levels of 0.4 ± 0.26 ng/ml and 0.43 ± 0.37 ng/ml could be detected in 21 % sheep and 46 % of goats for periods up to 77 days respectively after prophylactic treatment
Summary
Trypanosomosis in animals is a major constraint to livestock production in large areas of sub-Saharan Africa (Spath 2000). The studies showed that sheep and goats could be protected against trypanosomosis by isometamidium chloride for periods ranging from 6 to 16 weeks. In the present study isometamidium-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Isometamidium-ELISA) was used to determine isometamidium concentrations in the serum of sheep and goats. Sera prepared from sheep and goats after treatment were tested using the isometamidium-ELISA (Eisler et al 1996) without any modification. The cross-reactivity of isometamidium reagents with other trypanocides, including homidium bromide and diminazene aceturate, was determined by analyzing negative control serum spiked with these drugs at concentrations varying from 1 ng/ml to 1 mg/ml. Specific detection of isometamidium was obtained and no significant cross-reactivity with homidium bromide or diminazene aceturate was observed.
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