bay-44-4400 and toltrazuril

The efficacy of emodepside plus toltrazuril oral suspension for dogs (Procox®, Bayer) against Trichuris vulpis was evaluated in a controlled, blinded and randomised laboratory study. Twenty naturally infected dogs were included. Dogs in the treatment group received the minimum therapeutic dose of 0.45 mg emodepside and 9 mg toltrazuril per kg body weight, while dogs in the control group were left untreated. Efficacy was calculated based on worm counts after necropsy on Day 7 post treatment. Additionally, all faeces were collected and examined for expelled worms. The treatment was 100 % effective. A total of 233 adult worms (geometric mean 17.0) and 3 immature adult worms were found in the control group at necropsy. Adequacy of infection was demonstrated. The treated group excreted a total of 186 adult worms within 2 days after treatment. Additionally, all dogs were co-infected with Uncinaria stenocephala. Efficacy against this parasite was 99.8 %. No side effects of the treatment were observed. This study demonstrates that in addition to the formerly proven efficacy against Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma caninum and Uncinaria stenocephala, emodepside plus toltrazuril suspension is also effective against T. vulpis and thus represents a convenient treatment option for dogs co-infected with whipworms and coccidia.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Ancylostomatoidea; Animals; Anthelmintics; Coinfection; Depsipeptides; Dogs; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; Feces; Parasite Load; Suspensions; Treatment Outcome; Triazines; Trichuriasis; Trichuris

The efficacy of emodepside plus toltrazuril (Procox® oral suspension for dogs) against different species of gastrointestinal nematodes (Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinaria stenocephala) was evaluated in nine randomised,blinded and placebo-controlled laboratory studies in naturally or experimentally infected dogs. The product was used at the proposed minimum dose of 0.45 mg emodepside and 9 mg toltrazuril per kg body weight. Efficacy was calculated based on worm counts after necropsy. Worm burdens in the control dogs ranged between 0 and 409 worms of the respective stage for T. canis and between 4 and 655 worms for hookworms. The studies demonstrated 100 % efficacy of emodepside/toltrazuril suspension against mature adult, ≥ 94.7 %efficacy against immature adult and 99.3 % efficacy against the L4 larval stage of T. canis. The efficacy against mature adult A. caninum was ≥ 99.5 % and the efficacy against mature adult U. stenocephala was 100 %. All differences between treatment and control groups were statistically significant and no gender effect was found. It can be concluded that the emodepside/toltrazuril suspension represents a safe and highly effective product in dogs with nematode (T. canis, hookworms) infection.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Ancylostoma; Ancylostomatoidea; Animals; Anthelmintics; Depsipeptides; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation; Female; Hookworm Infections; Larva; Male; Parasite Egg Count; Toxocara canis; Toxocariasis; Triazines

Three randomised, blinded and placebo-controlled laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of emodepside plus toltrazuril suspension (Procox(®) suspension for dogs) against Isospora canis and Isospora ohioensis-complex. Unweaned puppies were experimentally infected with sporulated oocysts of I. canis and/or I. ohioensis-complex. In each study, one group was treated during prepatency (2 or 4 days post infection) while dogs in the second group were treated individually after the onset of oocyst excretion of the respective coccidia species. The dogs were treated with the minimum therapeutic dose of 0.45 mg emodepside and 9 mg toltrazuril per kg body weight. Daily faecal oocyst counts from both groups were compared to placebotreated control groups to determine efficacy.Dogs treated during prepatent I. canis or I. ohioensis-complex infection showed significantly lower oocyst counts for up to 12 days compared to the control group. Oocyst counts were reduced by 90.2 - 100 % while the control groups continued to exhibit an adequate infection, except for one study where efficacy against prepatent I. canis infection faded 13 days after treatment. Following treatment of patent I. canis or I. ohioensis-complex infections, significantly lowered oocyst counts were observed for up to 9 days compared to the control group. Faecal oocyst counts were reduced by 91.5 - 100 %. In all three studies the number of days with diarrhoea was significantly lower when dogs were treated during prepatent Isospora spp. infection compared to the control groups. No adverse drug reactions were observed during the studies. In conclusion, the studies demonstrated that emodepside plus toltrazuril suspension is an efficient coccidiocide for dogs.

Topics: Animals; Coccidiostats; Depsipeptides; Diarrhea; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation; Isospora; Isosporiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Triazines

Three controlled, blinded and randomised multicentre field studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of a new formulation containing emodepside plus toltrazuril (Procox® suspension for dogs) against naturally acquired parasite infections in dogs. In two studies dogs positive for gastrointestinal nematodes and/or Isospora spp. were treated with emodepside/toltrazuril suspension (at least 0.45 mg emodepside plus 9 mg toltrazuril per kg body weight) or a reference product containing either milbemycin oxime plus praziquantel (Milbemax®) or sulfadimethoxine (Kokzidiol SD®) at recommended dose rates. The third study investigated efficacy against prepatent natural Isospora spp. infections in comparison to an untreated control group by enrolling Isospora- negative dogs that were at risk to develop a patent infection during the study.No suspected adverse drug reactions were observed in any of the 403 dogs enrolled in the three studies including 234 dogs treated with emodepside/toltrazuril suspension. In dogs treated with emodepside/toltrazuril suspension against nematode infection faecal egg counts were reduced by 100 % (reference product: 99.7 %). Similarly, in the dogs that had been treated against patent Isospora spp. infection, faecal oocyst counts were reduced by 100 % (reference product: 99.0 %). In both studies, statistical analysis demonstrated non-inferiority and even superiority to the reference products (p ≤ 0.009). Dogs treated with emodepside/toltrazuril suspension during suspected prepatent Isospora spp. infection had 98.7 % lower faecal oocyst counts after treatment compared to untreated dogs (p < 0.0001).The studies demonstrated that emodepside/toltrazuril suspension is safe and highly efficacious against nematodes and Isospora spp. under field conditions.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Antinematodal Agents; Coccidiostats; Depsipeptides; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation; Feces; Isospora; Isosporiasis; Macrolides; Nematode Infections; Parasite Egg Count; Praziquantel; Triazines

The coccidia Isospora felis and Isospora rivolta are intestinal parasites occurring worldwide in domestic cats. In young cats, they can be detected with higher prevalence.The effects of toltrazuril in the new combination product Procox(®) oral suspension for dogs containing 0.1 % emodepside and 2 % toltrazuril (0.9 mg emodepside + 18 mg toltrazuril per ml) were studied in eighteen kittens experimentally infected each with a total of 1 x 10(5) oocysts of a mixture of Isospora felis and Isospora rivolta. In the infectious material, the quantitative relation of I. felis and I. rivolta was about 1:5. Following a three-days period after infection, two groups of 6 kittens were treated during the prepatent period with either a single dose of 0.45 mg emodepside + 9 mg toltrazuril/kg body weight or 0.9 mg emodepside + 18 mg toltrazuril/kg body weight. A group of six kittens without any treatment served as a control. On day 5 post infection, the untreated kittens started the excretion of oocysts. Treatment with both toltrazuril doses significantly reduced oocyst excretion. Following the single higher dose, the reduction of oocysts of both Isospora spp. was more pronounced (96.7 % to 100 %) in comparison to the lower dose (57.2 % to 100 %). The Procox(®) application was well tolerated and no adverse events were seen with any of the applied dosages.When administered to kittens and as a single treatment during the prepatent period, Procox(®) is suitable to control the number of oocysts excreted in the faeces in case of an Isospora felis and Isospora rivolta infection.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Cat Diseases; Cats; Coccidiostats; Depsipeptides; Diarrhea; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Isospora; Isosporiasis; Triazines

Two exploratory studies were performed to determine the optimum therapeutic dose of Procox(®) for the removal of experimental infection with mature adult Toxocara (T.) cati and Ancylostoma (A.) tubaeforme in kittens. Procox(®) is a new oral suspension containing a combination of the nematocidal and coccidiocidal active principles emodepside (0.1 %) and toltrazuril (2 %).In the first study, 18 eight-weeks-old kittens were inoculated with 450 L3 larvae of T. cati. 56 days after infection, the kittens were allocated to three treatment groups and were treated with 0.5 mg emodepside/kg body weight (group 1), 0.25 mg emodepside/kg body weight (group 2) and 0.1 mg emodepside/kg body weight (group 3), respectively. In the second study, 10 eight-weeks-old kittens were inoculated with 350 L3 larvae of A. tubaeforme. Four weeks after infection, the kittens were allocated to two treatment groups and were treated with 0.1 mg emodepside/kg body weight (group 1) or 0.25 mg emodepside/kg body weight (group 2). In both studies, all kittens received a reference treatment with Drontal(®) (230 mg pyrantel embonate and 20 mg praziquantel per tablet) at the recommended dose of one tablet/4 kg body weight 5 days after treatment with Procox(®). Anthelmintic efficacy was calculated by reduction in worm numbers expelled with the faeces following treatment with Procox(®) as compared with faecal worm numbers after reference treatment with Drontal(®), by thus avoiding necropsy of the animals.In the T. cati study, emodepside was at 99.9 %, 100 % and 96.5 % effective at a dosage of 0.5 mg, 0.25 mg and 0.1 mg per kg body weight, respectively. Against A. tubaeforme emodepside was at 95.7 % and 100 % effective at a dosage of 0.1 mg and 0.25 mg per kg body weight. No adverse events were seen during either study.It can be concluded that Procox(®) is efficacious for the control of mature adult T. cati and A. tubaeforme infections in cats at a single-dose rate of 0.25 mg emodepside/kg body weight.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Ancylostoma; Ancylostomiasis; Animals; Antinematodal Agents; Cat Diseases; Cats; Depsipeptides; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation; Larva; Parasite Egg Count; Toxocara; Toxocariasis; Triazines

Hepatozoonosis caused by Hepatozoon canis (Eucoccidiorida, Hepatozoidae) is among the most widespread vector-borne infections of dogs, primarily transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks. Based on the absence of a consensus on the treatment regimes for canine hepatozoonosis, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of imidocarb dipropionate (5-6 mg/kg subcutaneously once a week for 6 weeks), and of toltrazuril/emodepside (Procox(®), 15 mg/kg once a day for 6 days) in association with clindamycin (15 mg/kg once a day for 21 days) in treating naturally infected dogs. At the enrollment time (T0), 32 dogs, cytologically or molecularly positive for H. canis, were assigned to test and control groups. Animals were treated according to the specific therapeutic protocol, and the presence of H. canis gamonts was assessed weekly by cytology and PCR throughout six months (T1-T19). In addition, any abnormality in leucocyte morphology was evaluated and recorded. Results indicate that, in spite of a reduction in the percentage of infected dogs, both treatments did not provide parasitological cure. Accordingly, new treatment protocols or active compounds against H. canis should be investigated.

Topics: Animals; Clindamycin; Coccidiosis; Coccidiostats; Depsipeptides; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Drug Therapy, Combination; Imidocarb; Treatment Failure; Triazines