Therapeutic Efficacy of Albendazole and Tetraclozan Against Gastrointestinal Worms in Crossbred Cows of HARC, Welmera District, Central Ethiopia

Abstract

Gastrointestinal parasites are economically important in the dairy industry. A study was carried out to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of anthelmintic drugs (Tetraclozan 3400 mg and Albendazole 2500mg) for the treatment of GIT worms in cross-bred cows at Holeta research center. A total of sixty crossbred cows were purposively screened and divided into three groups for the current study. The first groups served as untreated control, the second and third groups were treated with Albendazole and Tetraclozan drugs respectively. Moreover, fecal samples were collected before and after treatment to count the eggs per gram (EPG) of feces and to evaluate drug efficacy percentage. Efficacy for each anthelmintic was determined by the Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT). The mean EPG count before and after treatment with Tetraclozan drug on 0. 14^th and 21^st days was 520±102.1, 100±54.6 and 15±6.7 respectively whereas the mean EPG count on 0, 14^th and 21^st days before and after treatment with Albendazole drug was 450±127.2, 150±46.2 and 20±6.8 respectively. The overall percentage efficacy of Tetraclozan and Albendazole drugs were 97.11 and 95.5 percent respectively. The study indicated that the two anthelmintic drugs were efficacious against worm infection and thus, leads to reduction in EPG count. It is important to explore the detailed pharmacokinetic and toxic effects of these drugs for wide therapeutic uses in animals. It is also recommended that the clinical responses of GIT helminthes to prophylactic and therapeutic drugs need to be periodically monitored in the farms and further introduced to smallholder farmers.