Comparison of Secnidazole and Fenbendazole for the Treatment of Asymptomatic Giardia Infection in Dogs

Authors

  • Jhon-Didier Ruiz Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de los Animales. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Universidad CES. Medellín. Colombia
  • Gloria P Ramírez Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de los Animales. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Universidad CES. Medellín. Colombia
  • Ana M Múnera Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de los Animales. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Universidad CES. Medellín. Colombia
  • Carlos Arroyave Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de los Animales. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Universidad CES. Medellín. Colombia
  • Laura Castaño Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de los Animales. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Universidad CES. Medellín. Colombia
  • Pablo López Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de los Animales. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Universidad CES. Medellín. Colombia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/vsr.v1i1.1067

Abstract

The objetive of this study was to compare a single dose of secnidazole versus multiple doses of fenbendazole for the treatment of dogs with asymptomatic Giardia infection. Materials and methods: Twenty-four asymptomatic dogs with a positive test result for Giardia spp were randomized in two equal groups to receive a single dose of secnidazole at 30 mg/kg PO, or fenbendazole at 50 mg/ kg PO q24h for 3 days. Hematological parameters were evaluated before and 8 days after treatment, and feces were re-examined at days 8, 15, and 30 post-treatment by fecal flotation and antigen test. Results: The number of positive dogs in the fenbendazole group was: 1 (day 8) and 3 (days 15 and 30). In the secnidazole group, the number of positive cases were: 4 (day 8), 3 (day 15), and 1 (day 30).  Conclusion: Treatment with secnidazole or fenbendazole, were effective between 75% and 92% to eliminate the excretion of Giardia cysts in canines together with hygienic measures to control, like disinfection with quaternary ammonium of patients and their environment. Further studies that include more animals and multiple fecal exams on consecutive days would be necessary to confirm its efficacy in dogs.

Keywords:

Drugs effects, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Zoonosis

References

[1] Thompson RCA. The zoonotic significance and molecular epidemiology of Giardia and giardiasis. Vet Parasitol, 2004, 126(1–2): 15–35.

[2] Arroyo-Salgado B, Buelvas-Montes Y, Villalba-Vizcaíno V, Salomón-Arzuza O. Genetic profiling of Giardia intestinalis by polimerase chain in human and dogs samples of Colombian Caribean Coast. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin. 2013, 32(xx): 424–7.

[3] Boeke CE, Mora-Plazas M, Forero Y, Villamor E. Intestinal protozoan infections in relation to nutritional status and gastrointestinal morbidity in Colombian school children. J Trop Pediatr, 2010, 56(5): 299–306.

[4] Chaves M del P, Fernández JA, Ospina I, López MC, Moncada L, Reyes P. Giardia duodenalis prevalence and associated risk factors in preschool and school-age children of rural Colombia. Biomedica, 2007, 27(3): 345–51.

[5] Hamnes IS, Gjerde BK, Robertson LJ. A longitudinal study on the occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in dogs during their first year of life. Acta Vet Scand, 2007, 49: 22.

[6] Papini R, Gorini G, Spaziani A, Cardini G. Survey on giardiosis in shelter dog populations. Vet Parasitol, 2005, 128(3–4): 333–9.

[7] Yoshiuchi R, Matsubayashi M, Kimata I, Furuya M, Tani H, Sasai K. Survey and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. in owned companion animal, dogs and cats, in Japan. Vet Parasitol, 2010, 174(3–4): 313–6.

[8] Bajer A, Bednarska M, Rodo A. Risk factors and control of intestinal parasite infections in sled dogs in Poland. Vet Parasitol, 2011, 75(3–4): 343–50.

[9] Soriano SV, Pierangeli NB, Roccia I, Bergagna HFJ, Lazzarini LE, Celescinco A, et al. A wide diversity of zoonotic intestinal parasites infects urban and rural dogs in Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Vet Parasitol, 2010, 167(1): 81–5.

[10] Meireles P, Montiani-Ferreira F, Thomaz-Soccol V. Survey of giardiosis in household and shelter dogs from metropolitan areas of Curitiba, Paraná state, Southern Brazil. Vet Parasitol, 2008, 152(3–4): 242–8.

[11] Barr SC, Bowman DD, Heller RL. Efficacy of fenbendazole against giardiasis in dogs. Am J Vet Res. 1994, 55(7): 988–90.

[12] Keith CL, Radecki S V, Lappin MR. Evaluation of fenbendazole for treatment of Giardia infection in cats concurrently infected with Cryptosporidium parvum. Am J Vet Res. 2003, 64(8): 1027–9.

[13] Löfmark S, Edlund C, Nord CE. Metronidazole is still the drug of choice for treatment of anaerobic infections. Clin Infect Dis. 2010, 50 Suppl 1: S16-23.

[14] Chon S-K, Kim N-S. Evaluation of silymarin in the treatment on asymptomatic Giardia infections in dogs. Parasitol Res. 2005, 97(6): 445–51.

[15] Escobedo AA, Cimerman S. Giardiasis: a pharmacotherapy review. Expert Opin Pharmacother, 2007, 8(12): 1885–902.

[16] Gardner TB, Hill DR. Treatment of giardiasis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2001, 14(1): 114–28.

[17] Da Silva AS, Castro VSP, Tonin A a., Brendler S, Costa MM, Jaques J a., et al. Secnidazole for the treatment of giardiasis in naturally infected cats. Parasitol Int. Elsevier Ireland Ltd. 2011, 60(4): 429–32.

[18] Costa M, Clarke C, Mitchell S, Papasouliotis K. Diagnostic accuracy of two point-of-care kits for the diagnosis of Giardia species infection in dogs. J Small Anim Pract, 2016, 57(6): 318–22.

[19] Bouzid M, Halai K, Jeffreys D, Hunter PR. The prevalence of Giardia infection in dogs and cats, a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies from stool samples. Vet Parasitol, 2015, 207(3–4): 181–202.

[20] Torres-Chablé OM, García-Herrera RA, Hernández-Hernández M, Peralta-Torres JA, Ojeda-Robertos NF, Blitvich BJ, et al. Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in domestic dogs in Tabasco, southeastern Mexico. Rev Bras Parasitol veterinária, 2015, 24(4): 432–7.

[21] Alves J, Santos A. Prevalence of Giardia spp. in young dogs using a combination of two diagnostic methods. Acta Parasitol / Witold Stefański Inst Parasitol Warszawa, Pol. 2016, 61(2): 261–6.

[22] Fiechter, R., Deplazes, P., Schnyder, M. Control of Giardia infections with ronidazole and intensive hygiene management in a dog kennel. Veterinary parasitology, 2012, 187: 93-98.

[23] Payne, P.A., Artzer, M., The biology and control of Giardia spp and Tritrichomonas foetus. The Veterinary clinics of North America, 2009, 39: 993-1007.

Downloads

Issue

Vol. 1 , Iss. 1 (September 2019)

Article Type

Articles

License

Copyright and Licensing

The authors shall retain the copyright of their work but allow the Publisher to publish, copy, distribute, and convey the work.

Veterinary Science Research publishes accepted manuscripts under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). Authors who submit their papers for publication by Veterinary Science Research agree to have the CC BY-NC 4.0 license applied to their work, and that anyone is allowed to reuse the article or part of it free of charge for non-commercial use. As long as you follow the license terms and original source is properly cited, anyone may copy, redistribute the material in any medium or format, remix, transform, and build upon the material.

License Policy for Reuse of Third-Party Materials

If a manuscript submitted to the journal contains the materials which are held in copyright by a third-party, authors are responsible for obtaining permissions from the copyright holder to reuse or republish any previously published figures, illustrations, charts, tables, photographs, and text excerpts, etc. When submitting a manuscript, official written proof of permission must be provided and clearly stated in the cover letter.
The editorial office of the journal has the right to reject/retract articles that reuse third-party materials without permission.

Journal Policies on Data Sharing

We encourage authors to share articles published in our journal to other data platforms, but only if it is noted that it has been published in this journal.