<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The efficacy of diminazene aceturate in three Nigerian breeds of sheep [West African Dwarf (WAD), Yankassa and Ouda] experimentally infected with <italic>Trypanosoma vivax</italic> was studied. Five rams of each breed were administered 0.5 ml of goat blood containing 2.5 × 106<italic>T. vivax</italic> per millilitre intravenously, while three rams of each breed served as uninfected controls. The treatment with diminazene aceturate was intramuscularly administered to the infected sheep, when their packed cell volume (PCV) fell to 15 %, at a dosage of 7 mg.kg−1 b. w. The parameters measured were parasitaemia, live weight gain and PCV. By 24 hours post treatment (pt.), no trypanosomes were detected by either the Haematocrit Concentration Technique (HCT) or the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in the blood of any of the treated sheep. However, a relapse of parasitaemia occurred 17 to 32 days pt. in 46.7 % of the treated rams and these were retreated with 14 mg.kg−1 b. w. diminazene aceturate. There were gradual increments in the live weight gain and the PCV of the treated rams until the resurgence of parasitaemia. Ouda had the highest cases of relapse (80 %), the least mean live weight gain and was the only breed in which mortality was recorded despite the treatment. In conclusion, diminazene aceturate administered at 7 mg.kg−1 b. w. cleared the trypanosomes in the blood of all the treated sheep within 24 hours and this was accompanied by the restoration of lost weight and the reversal of anaemia. However, the subsequent resurgence of parasitaemia indicated that a dosage of 7 mg.kg−1 b. w. was no longer reliable for complete elimination of trypanosomes from all the tissues of the host.</abstract>

The efficacy of diminazene aceturate in three Nigerian breeds of sheep [West African Dwarf (WAD), Yankassa and Ouda] experimentally infected with Trypanosoma vivax was studied. Five rams of each breed were administered 0.5 ml of goat blood containing 2.5 × 106T. vivax per millilitre intravenously, while three rams of each breed served as uninfected controls. The treatment with diminazene aceturate was intramuscularly administered to the infected sheep, when their packed cell volume (PCV) fell to 15 %, at a dosage of 7 mg.kg−1 b. w. The parameters measured were parasitaemia, live weight gain and PCV. By 24 hours post treatment (pt.), no trypanosomes were detected by either the Haematocrit Concentration Technique (HCT) or the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in the blood of any of the treated sheep. However, a relapse of parasitaemia occurred 17 to 32 days pt. in 46.7 % of the treated rams and these were retreated with 14 mg.kg−1 b. w. diminazene aceturate. There were gradual increments in the live weight gain and the PCV of the treated rams until the resurgence of parasitaemia. Ouda had the highest cases of relapse (80 %), the least mean live weight gain and was the only breed in which mortality was recorded despite the treatment. In conclusion, diminazene aceturate administered at 7 mg.kg−1 b. w. cleared the trypanosomes in the blood of all the treated sheep within 24 hours and this was accompanied by the restoration of lost weight and the reversal of anaemia. However, the subsequent resurgence of parasitaemia indicated that a dosage of 7 mg.kg−1 b. w. was no longer reliable for complete elimination of trypanosomes from all the tissues of the host.

Response of Three Nigerian Breeds of Sheep Experimentally Infected with <italic>Trypanosoma vivax</italic> to Diminazene Aceturate Therapy

Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology

Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology

College of Veterinary Medicine Federal University of Agriculture

Folia Veterinaria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Response of Three Nigerian Breeds of Sheep Experimentally Infected with  to Diminazene Aceturate Therapy

The efficacy of diminazene aceturate in three Nigerian breeds of sheep [West African Dwarf (WAD), Yankassa and Ouda] experimentally infected with Trypanosoma...

Response of Three Nigerian Breeds of Sheep Experimentally Infected with Trypanosoma vivax to Diminazene Aceturate Therapy

Published Online: Oct 06, 2020

Page range: 13 - 21

Received: May 05, 2020

Accepted: Jun 30, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fv-2020-0022

Keywords
breeds, diminazene aceturate, sheep, therapy,

© 2020 I. K. Oyewusi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Response of Three Nigerian Breeds of Sheep Experimentally Infected with Trypanosoma vivax to Diminazene Aceturate Therapy

Published Online: Oct 06, 2020

Page range: 13 - 21

Received: May 05, 2020

Accepted: Jun 30, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fv-2020-0022

Keywordsbreeds, diminazene aceturate, sheep, therapy,

© 2020 I. K. Oyewusi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
breeds, diminazene aceturate, sheep, therapy,