Comparison of Three Different Treatment Schedules for Praziquantel (Cestocur®, Bayer) in the Treatment of Tapeworm Infections (Moniezia spp.) and Their Impact on Body Weight Gains in a German Sheep Flock

Abstract

In an observational study, three different treatment schedules with praziquantel were assessed in a Merino land sheep flock from southern Germany. The herd had a known history of severe recurrent Moniezia spp. infections. After turnout to pasture, three hundred lambs between 8 and 14 weeks old were weighed and randomly allocated to three different groups. They were treated with praziquantel (Cestocur®) at a dose of 3.75 mg/kg body weight using the following schedules: group 1 treated four times at monthly intervals (Days 1, 31, 59, 91); group 2 treated three times at six-week intervals (Days 16, 59, 105), group 3 treated twice at an eight-week interval (Days 31, 91). Based on faecal examinations, all lambs were negative for Moniezia spp. on Day 1. At study end (Day 126), higher body weights were seen in group 1 (49.9 ± 5.8 kg; 49.9 kg) than in group 2 (48.7 ± 5.5 kg; 49.0 kg) and in group 3 (47.5 ± 5.4 kg; 47.5 kg) (mean ± SD; median). Overall weight gains were significantly higher in group 1 (22.5 ± 1.8 kg; 22.3 kg) compared to group 2 (20.8 ± 1.4 kg, 21.0 kg; p < 0.0001) and group 3 (19.3 ± 2.2 kg, 19.6 kg; p < 0.0001). The results show that praziquantel treatments applied early in the grazing season and in monthly intervals were more beneficial for body weight developments in lambs than applied at six-weekly or eight-weekly intervals.

Pulmonary and Gastrointestinal Parasitic Infections in Small Ruminant Autochthonous Breeds from Centre Region of Portugal—A Cross Sectional Study

“…Two Cestode species, Moniezia expansa and M. benedeni, occur in small ruminants [54,55]; in this study only M. benedini was identified, with higher prevalence in sheep [4] and lower prevalence in goats [30] than previously reported. The prevalence of Trichuris spp.…”

Nuevos antecedentes de parásitos gastrointestinales presentes en razas ovinas de carne en Magallanes

“…Mientras que estudios señalan que la presencia de este parásito no tendría implicancia productiva, por lo que no amerita la realización de tratamiento alguno (Elliott, 1984(Elliott, , 1986. Sin embargo otros trabajos señalan que el control de este cestodo se traduce en aumentos de peso en corderos (Southworth et al 1996;Strobel et al 2013). En el presente estudio no se observó diferencia entre las razas evaluadas, sin embargo, se aprecia un aumento entre los 3 y 6 meses de edad de los corderos y esta conducta estaría de acuerdo a estudios previos, que señalan que las más altas prevalencias de este parásito ocurrirían en los meses de verano y otoño, lo que se debe a que durante estos meses hay mayor presencia de ácaros oribátidos de vida libre que participan como hospederos intermediarios dentro del ciclo biológico de Moniezia (Suárez & Busetti, 1995).…”

Gastrointestinal parasites as a possible threat to an endangered autochthonous Portuguese sheep breed

“…Two Cestoda species, Moniezia expansa and M. benedeni , commonly occur in ruminants (Strobel et al ., 2013; Diop et al ., 2015) and were found in 0.8% and 2.3%, respectively. While M. expansa was the most frequent Cestoda in some studies (Bashtar et al ., 2011; Nguyen et al ., 2012), worldwide, other researchers only report M. benedeni (Moazeni & Nili, 2004).…”