Robenidine Resistance in Eimeria tenella

Abstract

Robenidine protected chickens against cecal coccidiosis infections initiated by a strain of the parasite that had no previous exposure to drugs. No cross resistance was found with 13 strains resistant to other anticoccidials. A strain of Eimeria tenella that was serially propagated in chickens fed mash containing robenidine became resistant to the chemical. No cross resistance was detected when this experimental strain was tested against 12 other anticoccidials.

Anticoccidial drugs of the livestock industry

“…Similar results have been shown in isolates from broiler farms in the UK (Chapman 1993) and the Netherlands (Peek and Landman 2006), showing the enormous threat of development of broad resistance against all classes of anticoccidial drugs. As drug sensitivity in a population of coccidia can be altered by the introduction of drug-sensitive coccidia, e.g., through the use of coccidiosis vaccines, or by the use of drug-sensitive laboratory-maintained lines or other reservoirs (Ball 1966; Jeffers 1976; McLoughlin and Chute 1978), these measures have to be combined in an attempt to control coccidiosis. Restoration of sensitivity to drugs following the use of vaccines comprising drug-sensitive strains of Eimeria has been demonstrated for the ionophores, monensin, and salinomycin, and the synthetic drug diclazuril (Chapman 1994b; Chapman and Jeffers 2014, 2015; Jenkins et al 2010; Peek and Landman 2006; Mathis and Broussard 2006).…”