Accumulation Rate in the Whole Blood of Market Turkeys Fed Prophylactic and Therapeutic Levels of Sulfadimethoxine

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the accumulation of sulfadimethoxine (SDM) in the blood of market turkeys. Fifty-two 12-week-old female turkeys were fed SDM at either prophylactic or therapeutic levels, .00625 and .03125% (w/w), respectively, for 24 days. A semiqualitative test, the Whole Blood Sulfa Test (WBST), was used to determine sulfa levels in the whole blood. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hr for the first day for both groups after the incorporation of SDM in the feed. Blood sampling was continued at 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 days in the prophylactic treatment and at 2, 3, 12, and 24 days in the therapeutic treatment. Six birds were chosen at random from each drug level for the sampling period. The blood concentration of SDM reached a plateau of about 1 ppm after 15 days of feeding with the highest level of about 1.2 ppm attained at 14 days in the prophylactic treatment. In the therapeutic treatment, the level of SDM in the whole blood leveled at 24 hr at approximately 4 ppm, and the highest levels of 30 ppm were attained at 11 days on the drug.