Abstract
This study evaluated the efficacy and the economic viability of two anticoccidial treatment regimens tested in lambs naturally exposed to Eimeria spp. re-infections in a grazing system during a 140-day period. Twenty-four suckling lambs were distributed into three groups based on the individual count of oocysts per gram of feces (OPG) and body weight. Animals were treated with toltrazuril 5% (20 mg/kg) at 14- (GI) or 21-day (GII) intervals, and GIII was kept as untreated control. A cost-benefit analysis of each treatment regimen was calculated. Additionally, economic analysis was performed on four hypothetical scenarios, in which lambs could be having 10, 25, 50, or 85% decrease in their expected body weight gain due to clinical. Efficacy of toltrazuril against Eimeria spp. was 96.9–99.9% (GI) and 74.2–99.9% (GII). E. ovinoidalis was most frequently identified, but no clinical signs of coccidiosis were observed in lambs. There were no differences in weight gain among the groups. The cost of treatment per lamb was $13.09 (GI) and $7.83 (GII). The estimation model showed that the cost-benefit ratio favored treatment with toltrazuril when lambs fail to gain weight. In the studied flock, the break-even point for toltrazuril administered at 14-day intervals was reached with 85% decrease in mean weight gain. In conclusion, toltrazuril can be used at 14-day intervals to control Eimeria spp. (re)-infection in lambs raised on pasture. This treatment regimen was not economically feasible for subclinical coccidiosis; however, it may be feasible when used to prevent weight loss caused by clinical coccidiosis.
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Acknowledgements
Alfredo S. Cezar is grateful to the Brazilian National Post-doctoral Program of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (PNPD/CAPES; project no. 20132641).
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All experimental practices involving animals were approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Experimentation at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) (protocol number 8088190815).
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Highlights
Toltrazuril was effective to control mixed infections by Eimeria spp. in suckling lambs raised at pasture.
Treatments with toltrazuril at 14-day intervals prevented Eimeria spp. re-infections on lambs naturally exposed to environmental oocysts.
Eimeria spp. re-infections were not fully prevented when toltrazuril was used every 21 days.
Economical feasibility of toltrazuril treatments was assessed in scenarios of subclinical or clinical coccidiosis in lambs.
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de Souza Rodrigues, F., Cezar, A.S., de Menezes, F.R. et al. Efficacy and economic analysis of two treatment regimens using toltrazuril in lambs naturally infected with Eimeria spp. on pasture. Parasitol Res 116, 2911–2919 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-017-5597-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-017-5597-5