baquiloprim and Escherichia-coli-Infections

Thirty-eight, one- to two-week-old calves with experimentally induced Escherichia coli diarrhoea were randomly assigned to three treatment groups. Two groups of 15 calves were treated intramuscularly once daily for three days with either danofloxacin mesylate at 1.25 mg/kg bodyweight, or with baquiloprim/sulphadimidine as a positive control (10 mg of combined active ingredient/kg); eight calves were treated with 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution as a negative control (1 ml/20 kg). Faecal consistency, demeanour, hydration status, appetite and bodyweight were monitored before, during, and for four days after treatment by an investigator unaware of the animals' treatment. Before treatment, the clinical, biochemical, and faecal indices were similar among the groups. By 24 hours after treatment began, the proportion of observations of faeces recorded as of normal consistency was highest in the danofloxacin-treated group (26 of 60), compared with 16 of 60 in the baquiloprim/sulphadimidine treated groups and four of 32 in the control group. The proportion of calves with a normal demeanour was highest in the danofloxacin-treated group at all the evaluations and these calves gained significantly (P < 0.05) more weight (1.6 [0.27] kg) than the calves treated with baquiloprim/sulphadimidine (0.67 [0.36] kg). The calves in the danofloxacin-treated group maintained relatively normal blood pH values, whereas the calves in the control group became progressively acidotic. By the end of treatment, the mean bicarbonate concentration was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the danofloxacin-treated calves than in the control group. The pH of the calves in the baquiloprim/sulphadimidine-treated group changed little during treatment, but by three days after the last treatment their mean pH had dropped to the level of the calves in the control group. The mean bicarbonate concentration of the baquiloprim/sulphadimidine-treated calves, like that of the danofloxacin-treated calves, was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of the calves in the control group.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Behavior, Animal; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Dehydration; Diarrhea; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections; Feces; Fluoroquinolones; Male; Pyrimidines; Sulfamethazine; Treatment Outcome

During examination of the half-lives in cattle of a series of 5-substituted diaminobenzyl-pyrimidines, it was found that replacement of the phenyl ring of trimethoprim (TMP) by bicyclic structures, particularly a quinolyl group, led to increases in half-life. The presence of a dimethylamino group on the quinolyl ring of the compound baquiloprim (BQP) conferred a half-life of about 10 hours. In contrast to TMP (half-life about one hour), BQP was well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in all ages of cattle, plasma concentrations reaching a plateau on the day after dosing followed by a slow decline. BQP showed the same high broad spectrum antibacterial activity as TMP, with marked synergy with sulphonamides. Its differential binding of the dihydrofolate reductases of Escherichia coli and rat liver predicted a margin of safety similar to that of TMP. The results of efficacy studies in mice in comparison with TMP showed that the longer half-life of BQP was associated with greater efficacy, and therapeutic properties superior to those of TMP in cattle were therefore predicted for BQP.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacillus; Biological Availability; Cattle; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections; Female; Folic Acid Antagonists; Half-Life; Liver; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pyrimidines; Rats; Trimethoprim