Efficacy of Moxidectin against Toxocara canis in experimentally infected dogs

In this study, 6 six-week-old puppies born of a stray bitch were used. Four of them were 5 kg, one of them 7 kg and the last 8 kg. Before egg inoculation, fecal examination by flotation technique showed that the animals had no helminth infection. Each puppy was infected orally with 150 embriyonated Toxocara canis eggs. When the egg first seen in their faeces after Inoculation, Moxidectin (Cytectin 1% inj) at a dose of 0.2 mg/kgbw was given subcutaneously. Fecal examinations were performed by flotation technique, on day-0 (treatment day), day-7, day-14 and day-21, and EPG values were calculated on the same days. Three dogs which had died of a viral infection at the 15th day of the experiment were necropsied and their intestines were examined for the adult stage of T. canis On fecal examination, no egg was found on posttreatment days (on days 7, 14, 21) and no adult parasite was seen at necropsy. Based on these findings, Moxidectin was found 100% effective against the adult stage of Toxocara canis. Between 4th and 12th hours after treatment, temporary side effects such as edematous swellings on face and pruritic erythematous dermatitis on the abdominal and inguinal regions were seen in four animals. It was noticed that the animals showed side effect were 2-3 kg less than others.