Anthelmintic efficacy of fenbendazole and levamisole in native fowl in northern Iran

Abstract

Background With the increasing number of free-range domestic chickens, helminth parasites have potentially become more of a threat to commercial flocks in recent years, and routine poultry deworming is needed to improve the efficiency of chicken production. The present study deals with a field trial to study the efficacy of two generally used anthelmintics, fenbendazole and levamisole, against gastrointestinal nematodes of domestic chickens in northern Iran. Methods Of 45 domestic chicken flocks involved in the study, 20 flocks were selected to participate in fecal egg count reduction testing based on flock size from April 2017 to September 2018. The infected chickens were randomly divided into three equal groups of 30 each. Ninety chickens in the infected groups received one of the following treatments (d 0 of treatment): Group 1: 5 mg kg−1 body weight (BW) fenbendazole for 3 consecutive days; Group 2: 16 mg kg−1 BW levamisole; Group 3 control: placebo, water + DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide). The efficacy of the treatments was evaluated by comparing fecal egg counts in the treated and control groups. Results Examination of three flocks of chickens from the control group showed that 95.0% of the animals were infected with gastrointestinal nematodes with an average geometric value of 361 eggs per gram of feces. Fenbendazole at a dose of 5 mg kg−1 BW for 3 days showed an efficacy of 83.7% (P ≥ 0.05), and levamisole at a dose of 16 mg kg−1 BW showed 71.8% efficacy (P ≥ 0.05) with geometric mean eggs in a gram of feces of 100 and 199.6, respectively. In general, fenbendazole and levamisole treatment led to significantly lower activity. The result of this study revealed that fenbendazole was a better and more effective dewormer than levamisole on the three Iranian domestic chicken flocks, but the difference was not significant. Capillaria spp. were the most generally resistant nematodes followed by Trichostrongylus spp. and Amidostomum anseris. Conclusion Our results indicated that fenbendazole and levamisole effectively reduced the number of nemathodes in three Iranian domestic chicken flocks. Given the results of our study, resistance can be expected in the parasitic helminths of poultry. Additional larger scale studies are required to determine the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in the poultry industry.

A high level estimation of the net economic benefits to small-scale livestock producers arising from animal health product distribution initiatives

“…A meta-analysis of helminth infections in poultry has estimated the prevalence in backyard systems at 73.6% (4.39–100%) ( 36 ) with regular reinfection. As the range of species of helminths that are found in backyard indigenous systems is high ( 36 – 40 ) we allow that anthelminthics are effective against only 80% of infections depending on treatment and infection ( 41 ). There is a marked beneficial impact on chicken growth from administration of anthelminthics ( 42 ), where among young stock (40–70 days) the estimated impact of treatment was a further 90 g over the 8 weeks following treatment.…”

Терапевтична Ефективність Сучасних Антигельмінтиків За Трихостронгільозу Гусей

“…Інші автори вказують на недостатню ефективність левамізолу в дозі 16 мг/кг відносно Capillaria spp., Trichostrongylus spp. та Amidostomum anseris, де ЕЕ становила лише 71,8 % [17].…”

The potential immunomodulatory effect of levamisole in humans and farm animals

“…In spite of the therapeutic efficacy and medical advantages of levamisole, the Food and Drug Administration banned its usage in 1998 for humans because of its severe side effects, such as rash and agranulocytosis [11] . However, it is still used in developing countries, including Iran [12] . Levamisole’s immunomodulatory effect occurs through its effect on both stimulatory and inhibitory influences on the immune system.…”