Comparative efficacy evaluation of Albendazole and Ivermectin drench formulation
against internal parasites of donkeys in Sudan.
SAWSAN M. A. IMAM (1, 2); TIGANI HASSAN (1); HISHAM I. SERI (3)*;
TIGANI A. TIGANI (3); ADAM D. ABAKAR (3)
1. Department of Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, Sudan.
2. Ministry of Animal Resources, South Darfur state, Sudan.
3. Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Nyala, Sudan.
Corresponding author: Dr. Hisham Ismail Seri e -mail: hishamseri@Yahoo.com
Table 2. Mean faecal egg counts (±SD) and reductions for Ivermectin-treated donkeys.
Abstract
The therapeutic efficacy of Ivermectin and Albendazole drench formulation at the manufacturers
recommended dose were evaluated in controlled trial at Nyala town, South Darfur State, Sudan. The study
involved 18 donkeys naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. Treatment efficacy was based on
the mean faecal egg count reduction 21 days post treatment. A faecal egg count reduction of 100% was
found after treatment with Albendazole and Ivermectin. In addition efficacy percentages of Albendazole
and Ivermectin against immature and adult nematode were as follows: Trichostrongylus axei 67.09% and
100%, Parascaris equorum 100% and 100%, Oxyuris equi 100% and 100%, Strongylus sp. 98.4% and
100%; and small strongyles 100% and 100%. Albendazole and Ivermectin with the single dose showed
moderate efficacy (33% and 62.71%, respectively) against larvae found the cranial mesenteric artery
aneurisms. No adverse reactions were observed in treated donkeys during the experiment period.
Key words: Albendazole, Ivermectin, donkeys, gastrointestinal nematodes, efficacy.
Day
Arithmetic mean (EPG)
Range
Mean % reduction
0
671.43±625.03
50-1900
0
1
1442.86±1586.72
0-3500
-114.89%
3
14.29±40.82
0-100
99.01%
7
0
0
100%
14
0
0
100%
21
0
0
100%
Introduction
Horses, ponies and donkeys are hosts to a large population of parasites. In a field survey
conducted by Kheir and Kheir (1981), five nematode genera were encountered in donkeys in South
Darfur State: Strongylus spp., Oxyuris spp., Strongyloides spp., Parascaris spp., and Trichuris spp.
Field surveys indicated that 70.1% of donkeys in Khartoum state were infested with helminth parasites
(Seri et al., 2004), the incidence of infection with helminth species was 56.2% in Nyala town.
Benzimidazole anthelmintics have a broad spectrum of activity against gastrointestinal helminths,
including migrating strongyle larvae and lungworm infections, and are well tolerated by mammals
(Mckellar and Scott, 1990). The main objective of this study is to compare the therapeutic efficacy of
Albendazole and Ivermectin in a controlled trial against helminth parasites of donkeys.
Table 3 Summary of worms recovered from control and animals treated with Albendazole at necropsy
Organs examined
Albendazole
Control
No.
Reduction %
303
203
33.00
Gastrophilus spp.
349
273
21.78
Habronema spp.
291
147
49.48
Trichostrongylus axei
79
26
67.09
Parascaris equorum
25
0
100.00
Strongyloides westeri
31
10
67.74
Gastrophilus spp.
3151
59
91.13
Strongylus spp.
841
157
81.33
Cyathostomes spp.
6012
0
100.00
Strongylus spp.
6800
109
98.40
Cyathostomes spp.
37660
701
98.14
Oxyuris equi
3151
0
100.00
Cranial mesenteric artery
Strongylus vulgaris
Stomach
Small Intestine
Caecum
Colon and rectum
Materials and Methods
Study animals: This study involved 18 male and female donkeys (4-10 years old). The donkeys had
naturally acquired mixed parasitic infections, comprising gastrointestinal nematodes. Infections were
confirmed before the beginning of the study by egg flotation. Individual egg count was determined by
using a modified Mc Master technique (Anon, a986).
Treatment protocol: Animals were weighed and treated as follows: animals in treatment group one
received single dose of Ivermectin drench formulation at the recommended dose level (200 g/kg
body weight); animals in treatment group two received single dose of Albendazole drench formulation
orally at the manufacturer recommended dose (10 mg/kg); donkeys in each of the treatment groups
were then observed for possible adverse reactions for two hours after treatment. Animals in the third
group remained untreated as control group. Faecal samples were collected from all donkeys and
analyzed the same day using a modified McMaster technique. Faecal egg counts were performed on
each animal before (day 0) and after treatment at day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21. On day 21 animals were
killed and necropsied. Animals were slaughtered and methods used for worm recovery were the same
as those previously described by (Reinecke and Le Roux, 1972). Helminthes were identified at a later
stage by placing them on glass slides, examining them microscopically and classifying them using the
early description (Lichtenfels, 1975).
Data analysis: The faecal egg count reduction (FECR) test was used to determine the anthelmintic
efficacy. Each animal acted as its own control. Arithmetic means of the egg counts and nematode
burdens were calculated to determine the mean percentage reductions, according to the following
formula:
FECR% = Pre-treatment EPG-Post-treatment EPG X 100
Pre-treatment EPG
Table 4 Summary of worms recovered from control and animals treated with Ivermectin at necropsy
Organs examined
Ivermectin
Control
No.
Reduction %
303
113
62.71
Gastrophilus spp.
349
0
100.00
Habronema spp.
291
2
99.31
Trichostrongylus axei
79
0
100.00
Parascaris equorum
25
0
100.00
Strongyloides westeri
31
0
100.00
Gastrophilus spp.
3151
0
100.00
Strongylus spp.
841
10
98.81
Cyathostomes spp.
6012
0
100.00
Strongylus spp.
6800
500
92.65
Cyathostomes spp.
37660
0
100.00
Oxyuris equi
3151
0
100.00
Cranial mesenteric artery
Strongylus vulgaris
Stomach
Small Intestine
Caecum
Colon and rectum
Discussion
A faecal egg count reduction of 100% was found after treatment with Ivermectin. Efficacy percentages of Ivermectin
against immature and adult nematodes were as follows: Trichostrongylus axei 100%, Parascaris equorum 100%,
Oxyuris equi 100%, Triodontophrus sp. 100%, Strongylus sp. 100% and small strongyles 100%. Ivermectin injectable
formulation showed moderate efficacy (69.23%) against larvae found in the mesenteric artery aneurisms (Seri et al,
2005). This finding is in accordance with other findings in horses (Costa et al, 1998, Davies and Schwalbach, 2000).
Doramectin an avermectin currently registered for use in sheep, cattle and swine also produced 100% efficacy when
administered to donkeys in Sudan (Seri et al, 2004), and horses in South Africa (Davies and Schwalbach, 2000). In
this study the presence of some Strongylus vulgaris larvae in the animals treated with Ivermectin indicated incomplete
activity against arterial stages of Strongylus vulgaris as Ivermectin showed only (62.1%) efficacy against arterial
stages. This result is in agreement with that of (Costa et al., 1998), who reported (67.8%) efficacy of Ivermectin
against S. vulgaris larvae found in the mesenteric artery aneurisms.
Faecal egg count reduction of 100% was found after treatment with doramectin intramuscularly, but only 99.24%
reduction was found after subcutaneous injection. At necropsy, only adult nematodes and mainly Strongylus vulgaris
(L4) were recovered (Seri et al, 2004b). This also agrees with our finding in this study.
Conclusion
Results
Faecal egg count reductions. The results of day zero to day 21 mean EPG values are presented in Tables
1 and 2 together with the mean faecal egg count reductions. Albendazole and Ivermectin produced 100%
reduction of nematode eggs on day 7 onwards. On day 0 all donkeys had positive egg counts with a range
of 500-10400 and 50-1900 EPG in Albendazole and Ivermectin groups respectively. On day 14, at
Albendazole and Ivermectin-treated groups all donkeys had negative egg counts to the end of the
experiment.
Post-mortem findings: The results of post-mortem findings and the nematodes collected were present in
tables 3 and 4. The results obtained indicated that animals received Ivermectin drench showed zero
nematode burdens except for the larval stages of strongylus vulgaris larvae (L4) present in the cranial
mesenteric artery reductions
Table 1. Mean faecal egg counts (±SD) and reduction for Albendazole-treated donkeys.
Day
Arithmetic mean (EPG)
Range
Mean % reduction
0
3621.43±3583.05
500-10400
0
1
1221.43±1526.94
200-4500
66.27%
3
21.43±39.34
50-100
98.25%
7
0
0
100%
14
0
0
100%
21
0
0
100%
A single oral dose of Albendazole was moderately efficient against naturally acquired infections of adult Cyathostomes,
Strongylus spp., Trichostrongylus axei, Parascaris equorum, Oxyuris equi, and Triodontophorus spp.; gastrointestinal
nematodes in donkeys. These findings suggest that further research into the use of albendazole drench formulation as
equine anthelmintics might be warranted
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