InternationalJournalofAgricultural

www.ijasvm.com IJASVM InternationalJournalofAgricultural SciencesandVeterinaryMedicine ISSN:2320-3730 Vol.5,No.1,February2017 E-Mail:editorijasvm@gmail.com oreditor@ijasvm.comm@gmail.com

Int. J. Agric.Sc & Vet.Med. 2017 Bhupesh Kamdi et al., 2017 Research Paper ISSN 2320-3730 www.ijasvm.com Vol. 5, No. 1, February 2017 2017 www.ijasvm.com. All Rights Reserved COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF DORAMECTIN AND FENBENDAZOLE IN MANAGEMENT OF CLINICAL TOXOCARIOSIS IN PANDHARPURI BUFFALO HERD Krishnendu Kundu 1, Bhupesh Kamdi 2*, Madhav Waman Khasnis 1, Chandrashekhar Mote 2, Sainath Manikrao Bhokre 3 and Ajay V Khanvilkar 3 *Corresponding Author: Bhupesh Kamdi, bhupeshkamdi@gmail.com Toxocariosis due to Toxocara vitullorum is a major parasitic problem among suckling and freshly weaned cattle and buffalo calves. The parasite is more pathogenic for buffaloes compared to cattle. Prenatal (in-utero) and postnatal (transcolostral) transmission of the larvae to the foetus or the suckling calves results in heavy worm burden that may be often fatal. A case of clinical toxocariosis was observed among one month old buffalo calves of Pandharpuri breed. Quantitative faecal examination revealed count of 2700 to 27,600 Toxocara eggs per gram of faeces. Calves were treated with doramectin and fenbendazole and the results were compared by recording faecal egg output (EPG) up to 21 days post treatment. Keywords: Toxocariosis, Pandharpuri, Buffalo, Calves, Fenbendazole, Doramectin INTRODUCTION Toxocara vitulorum is anascarid nematode of cattle and buffaloes and produces clinical disease among young neonates. In young calves of one to three months age, patent infection in the small intestine occursafter ingestion of eggs (Patnaik and Pande, 1963; and Roberts, 1990a). However, majority infections in such calves occurs after the parasitic larval stagesare transmitted from the dam to the calf pre-partum (in-utero) and postpartum through colostrum and milk (Warren, 1971; and Roberts et al., 1990). In case of prepartum infection, the calves after birth are found to harbour adult parasites in their small intestine (Soulsby, 1982). In cases of post-partum infection, the parasites reach patency after three to four weeks and eggs can be found in calf faeces (Kassai, 1999). Patency is short lived and the calves begin clearing infection by eight weeks of age due to strengthened immunity (Roberts, 1 Department of Veterinary Parasitology, KNP College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal, District-Satara, Maharashtra 412801, India. 2 Department of Veterinary Pathology, KNP College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal, District-Satara, Maharashtra 412801, India. 3 Department of Livestock Production and Management, KNP College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal, District-Satara, Maharashtra 412801, India. 72

1990a). Calves of four to six months age donot harbor any adult stage of the parasite. Heavy infections of Toxocara vitulorum are characterised by poor body condition, anaemia, muddy coloured foul smelling diarrhoea, steatorrhoea and abdominal pain due to intestinal obstruction. The disease is significantly pathogenic for buffalo calves (Wickramasinghe et al., 2009). The clinical form of the disease called toxascariosis, is common in the tropics and subtropics (Roberts, 1993). However the disease has been reported among beef cattle from the USA and Holland (Davila et al., 2010; and Borgsteede et al., 2012) and among bison (Bison bison) from Canada (Woodbury et al., 2012). India leads the world in buffalo population with 105.1 million animals. This is more than half the global share (56.7%) of buffaloes (www.buffalo paedia.crib.res.in). State of Maharashtra with buffalo population of 55.94 lakh ranks eighth in India (Report on 19 th Livestock Census, Maharashtra State, 2012). Maharashtra has one indigenous breeds of water buffalo (Bubalusbubalis), thepandharpuri. The buffalo belongs to dry tracts of Western Maharashtra. The purpose of present study was to reportclinical toxascariosis among one month old Pandharpuri buffalo calves and compare effects oftwo anthelmintics, fenbendazole (oral) and doramectin (injectable) for therapeutic management of the same. MATERIALS AND METHODS Clinical History and Animals Under Study Carcass of one month old female Pandharpuribuffalo calf was brought for postmortem examination at the Department of Veterinary Pathology, KNP College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal, and Maharashtra State of India. The carcass was emaciated and had history of diarrhea. Post mortem examination revealed presence of Toxocara vitulorum nematodes in large numbers infesting the intestine. Other ten calves, aged between 24 to 32 days, from the same box were examined. These calves had poor weight gain and were passing gray to yellowish coloured pasty faeces. Faecal Examination Approximately three to five grams of faeces were collectedwith well lubricated, gloved fingers, per rectally from each calf. The faecal samples were first examined for the presence of parasitic stages by preparing direct smears. Thereafter quantitative faecal examination was carried out by McMaster technique as per the standard protocol.ten calves were distributed into two groups of five animals each, in such manner that there was no statistically significant difference between mean EPG of the two (by independent sample t-test, p<0.05). The results of faecal examination were expressed as Eggs Per Gram (EPG). Anthelmintic Therapy Based on the findings and observations of faecal examination,tencalves of either sex were divided into two groups of five each. The calves were divided such that each group had equivalent distribution of moderate and high faecal egg counts. First group (D) was treated with Doramectin (Dectomax, Zoetis), administered as a single dose of 0.2 mg/kg BW through subcutaneous route. Group F, was treated with Fenbendazole (Vetfen-T, Indian Immunologicals) administered as a single dose, at the rate of 7.5 mg/kg body weight, orally. Post treatment, quantitative faecal egg counts were carried out on days 03, 06, 09, 12 and 15. Percentage 73

reduction in EPG or faecal egg count after treatment was calculated using the formula (T n - T 0 /T 0 ) 100%; where T n is EPG observed on nth day of treatment and T0 is the EPG observed before treatment. Figure 1: Toxocara Vitullorum Eggs as Observed in Calf Faeces Statistics Applied Students t-test and Mann Whitney test was used for analyses of difference in EPG between two treatment groups for each day (p<0.05). One way ANOVA was used for analyses of within group day wise difference in EPG. Both pre and post treatment EPG were analysed. Software SPSS20.0 from IBM was used for analyses of data. RESULTS Faecal examination by direct smear method revealed presence of Toxocara vitulorum eggs in the faeces (Figure). Quantitative faecal egg count revealed EPG range from 2700 to 27,600. Pretreatment and post treatment mean EPG of each group are presented in the table. The faecal egg concentration for each of the seven calves is provided in the table. Post treatment EPG for the two groups was first observed after three days. The percentage reduction in EPG among doramectin treated group (group DOR) and fenbendazole treated group (group FBZ) were 39.14% and 63.95% respectively. However, no significant difference between the mean EPG of the two groups was observed. The percentage reduction in EPG as observed on subsequent days (6 th, 9 th, 12 th, 15 th, 18 th and 21 st ). Percent reduction in DOR on days 6 th, 9 th, 12 th and 15 th was 82.65%, 97.6%, 99.83% and 100%. Corresponding reduction in faecal output of fenbendazoletretated group was 63.95%, 78.61%, 85.35%, 91.15%, 96.45%, 99.13%. The percent reduction in EPG was 99.89% on day 21 post infection. Only one of the calves in group FBZ was found shedding eggs on day fifteen post treatment, with EPG of 60, hence mean EPG of the group was 12. DISCUSSION T. vitulorum is an endemic among young cattle and buffalo calves in tropical regions. Its prevalence has been reported to be high during summer. Buffalo calves with prevalence of 54.7% are more affected than cattle calves, prevalence of 37.7% (Chauhan et al., 1973). T. vitulorum infection is known to be associated with mortalities as well as morbidity. The disease is a major cause of loss for buffalo farmers. Buffaloes of all breeds are equally affected by the parasite. Hence, mortality of a Pandharpuri buffalo calf in the herd due to heavy infestation is not unusual. Akhtar et al. (1982) considered faecal egg count (eggs per gram of faeces/epg) of 5000 as light infection, 5000-10,000 as moderate infection and above 10,000 as heavy infection. Roberts (1990b), however suggested an EPG of 20,000 74

as pathogenic Toxocara infection. Present study revealed low to heavy worm infestation with EPG ranging from 2700 to 27,600. Therapeutic management of clinical toxocariosis can be accomplished by use of various anthelmintics which kill adult nematodes. Pyrantel, febantel and piperazine have been found to be 100% effective in toxocariosis when administered by 14-21 days of age (Roberts, 1989; and Roberts, 1993). However drugs like ivermectin, fenbendazoe and eprinomectin have been found to be equally effective (Mahieu and Naves, 2008; Davila et al., 2010; and Avcioglu and Balkaya, 2011a). Avcioglu and Blakaya (2011b) evaluated the efficacy of doramectin, ivermectin and moxidection in naturally infected Brown Swiss calves and found all three to be equally effective at subcutaneous dose of 0.2 mg/kg body weight. All three drugs achieved significant reduction in faecal egg counts by approximately 99% by 8 th day post treatment and complete clearance (100%) by 12 th day post treatment. Gadre et al. (2011) reported clearance of faecal egg counts by 14 th day post treatment with doramectin and 21 st day post treatment with Fenbendazole. In the present study similar results were observed. Fenbendazole reduced faecal egg counts by 99.89% (near complete reduction) by day 21 post infection; while doramectin treated animals were clear for T. vitullorum eggs by day 15. Doramectin achieves peak plasma concentration by 6±3.6 days post administration in cattle (Ndong et al., 2005). The variations in buffalo are not known. Hence, from existing cattle data it is quite evident that maximum killing effect is achieved between 6 th and 12 th day post treatment. Fenbendazole administered to buffaloes was reported to have lower plasma concentrations compared to cattle (Sanyal, 1994). This may be the reason for slower reduction in faecal egg counts compared to doramectin. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Authors thankful the Associate Dean, KNP College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal and the Vice Chancellor, Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University for the facilities provided, that helped carry out the study. REFERENCES 1. Acvioglu H and Balkaya I (2011a), Efficacy of Eprinomectin Against Toxocara vitullorum in Calves, Trop. Anim. Hlth. Production., Vol. 43, pp. 283-286. 2. Acvioglu H and BalkayaI (2011b), A Comparasion of Efficacy of Subcutaneously Administered Ivermectin, Doramectin and Moxidectin Against Naturally Infected Toxocara vitullorum in Calves, Trop. Anim. Hlth. Prod., Vol., 43, No. 6, pp. 1097-1107. 3. Akhtar M S, Chattha M I and Chaudhry A H (1982), Comparative Efficacy of Santonin and Piperazine Against Neoascaris vitulorum in Buffalo Calves, J. Vet. Pharmacol. Ther., Vol. 5, pp. 71-76. 4. Borgsteede F H, Holzhauer M, Herder F L, Veldhuis-Wolterbeek E G and Hegeman C (2012), Toxocara vitulorum in Suckling Calves in The Netherlands, Res. Vet. Sci., Vol., 92, pp. 254-256. 5. Chauhan P P S, Bhatia B B and Pandey B P (1973), Incidence of Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Buffalo and Cow Calves at State Livestock Farm in Uttar Pradesh, Indian. J. of Ani. Sci., Vol. 43, pp. 216-219. 6. Davila G, Irsik M and Greiner E C (2010), Toxocara vitulorum in Beef Calves in North 75

Central Florida, Vet. Parasitol., Vol. 168, pp. 261-263. 7. Gadre A S, Maske D K, Panchbai C D, Gawande T R, Kolte S W and Sirothia A R (2011), Efficacy of Doramectin and Fenbendazole Against Naturally Infected Dairy Animals with Parasites at Central Zone of Vidarbha Region in Maharashtra State, Vet. World, Vol. 1, pp. 101-102. 8. Kassai T (1999), Veterinary Helminthology, pp. 102-103, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, MS. 9. Mahieu M and Naves M (2008), Incidence of Toxocara vitulorum in Creole Calves of Guadeloupe, Trop. Anim. Hlth. Prod., Vol. 40, pp. 243-248. 10. Ndong T B, Kane Y, Ba M A, Sane I, Sutra J F and Alvineri M (2005), Pharmacokinetics of Ivermectin in Zebu Gobra (Bosindicus), Vet. Parasitol., Vol. 128, pp. 169-173. 11. Patnaik M M and Pande B P (1963), Notes on the Helmintic Infestations Encountered in One-Month Old Buffalo Calves, Indian Vet. J., Vol. 40, pp. 128-133. 12. Report on 19 th Livestock Census, Maharashtra State, Commissionarate of Animal Husbandry Pune, https://ahd. maharashtra.gov.in/pdf/livestock%20 census/livestock_census_19 th _2012.pdf 13. Roberts J A (1989), Toxocara vitulorum: Treatment Based on the Duration of the Infectivity of Buffalo Cows (Bubalusbubalis) for their Calves, J. Vet. Pharm. Therap., Vol. 12, pp. 5-13. 14. Roberts J A (1990a), The Life Cycle of Toxocara vitulorum in Asian Buffalo (Bubalusbubalis), Int. J. Parasitol., Vol. 20, pp. 833-840. 15. Roberts J A (1990b), The Egg Production of Toxocara vitulorum in Asian Buffalo (Bubalusbubalis), Vet. Parasitol., Vol. 37, pp. 113-120. 16. Roberts J A (1993), Toxocara vitulorum in Ruminants, Vet. Bulletin, Vol. 63, pp. 545-568. 17. Roberts J A, Fernando S T and Sivanathan S (1990), Toxocara vitulorum in the Milk of Buffalo ( Bubalusbubalis) Cows, Res. Vet. Sci., Vol. 49, pp. 289-291. 18. Sanyal P (1994), Pharmacokinetick Behavior of Fenbendazole in Buffalo and Cattle, J. Vet. Pharmacol. Ther., Vol. 17, pp. 1-4. 19. Soulsby E J (1982), Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domesticated Animals, 7 th Edition, The English Language Book Society and Bailliere Tindall, London. 20. Warren E G (1971), Observations on the Migration and Development of Toxocara vitulorum in Natural and Experimental Hosts, Int. J. Parasitol., Vol. 1, pp. 85-99. 21. Welcome to Buffalopaedia, http://www. buffalopedia.cirb.res.in/index 22. Wickramasinghe S, Yatawara L, Rajapakse R P and Agatsuma T (2009), Toxocara Canis and Toxocara vitulorum: Molecular Characterization, Discrimination, and Phylogenetic Analysis Based on Mitochondrial (ATP Synthase Subunit 6 and 12S) and Nuclear Ribosomal (ITS-2 and 28S) Genes, Parasitol. Res., Vol. 104, pp. 1025-1030. 23. Woodbury M R, Copeland S, Wagner B, Fernando C, Hill J E and Clemence C (2012), Toxocara vitulorum in a Bison (Bison bison) Herd from Western Canada, Can. Vet. J., Vol. 53, pp. 791-794. 76

APPENDIX Table 1: Pretreatment and Post Treatment Faecal Egg Output (EPG) of Toxocara Vitullorum Eggs in Buffalo Calves Treated with Doramection (D) and Fenbendazole (F) Treated Groups, Recording EPG in Group D was Not Carried Out Once No More Egg Shedding was Observed at 15 th day Post Treatment Days Pre-treatment or Post-treatment Group DOR Group FBZ Mean EPG Percent Reduction in EPG Mean EPG Percent Reduction in EPG Pre-treatment 11240 aa - 11580 aa - Day 03 6840 ba 39.14% 4173.8 ba 63.95% Day 06 1950 A 82.65% 3146 A 78.61% Days post treatment Day 09 260 A 97.60% 1696 A 85.35% Day 12 18 A 99.83% 1024 A 91.15% Day 15 0 A 100% 550 A 95.76% Day 18 - - 100 A 99.13% Day21 - - 12 A 99.89% Note: Similar superscripts in small letters (a) suffixed denotes, no significant difference in mean EPG between two treatment groups (p<0.05); dissimilar superscripts in capital letters (AB) suffixed denotes significant difference in pre-treatment and post-treatment mean EPG, within a group (p<0.05). 77