Daily feeding of diclazuril top dress pellets in foals reduces seroconversion to Sarcocystis neurona.
Thirty-three foals from a farm with a high exposure rate to Sarcocystis neurona were assigned to either an untreated or a diclazuril-treated group. Treated foals received daily 0.5 mg/kg of diclazuril pellets from 1 to 12 months of age. Monthly blood was tested for IgG against S. neurona using the indirect fluorescent antibody test. Following ingestion of colostral antibodies to S. neurona, there was a steady and continuous decline in seroprevalence to S. neurona until foals from both groups reached weaning age. Thereafter, the untreated foal group showed a significant increase in monthly seroprevalence compared to the diclazuril-treated foal group. The difference in temporal seroprevalence could be explained by the successful reduction of S. neurona infection in foals receiving a daily low-dose diclazuril.
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: npusterla@ucdavis.edu.
Nicola
N
Pusterla
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Andrea
A
Packham
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Sarah
S
Mackie
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, CA 95616, USA.
Philip H
PH
Kass
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Laszlo
L
Hunyadi
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Patricia A
PA
Conrad
D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D003049:Coccidiostats / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006736:Horses; D009570:Nitriles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000145:classification*; D012523:Sarcocystosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D000069078:Seroconversion; D013997:Time Factors; D014227:Triazines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D003049:Coccidiostats; D009570:Nitriles; D014227:Triazines; C057884:diclazuril
Diclazuril; Horses; Indirect fluorescence antibody test; Prevention; Sarcocystis neurona