Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ronidazole treatment for cats with Tritrichomonas foetus infection
By Gookin, Jody L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2006·Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Efficacy of ronidazole for treatment of feline Tritrichomonas foetus infection.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with diarrhea was diagnosed with a Tritrichomonas foetus infection and treated with a medication called ronidazole. After taking the medication for 10 days, the cat's diarrhea and infection cleared up for about 85 days, but then the symptoms returned. When the cat was treated again with a higher dose of ronidazole, it remained free of diarrhea and infection for over 400 days. This treatment was also effective in other kittens that were infected in a controlled setting, showing that ronidazole can successfully treat this type of infection in cats.
People also search for: cat diarrhea treatment · Tritrichomonas foetus in cats · ronidazole for cat infection · cat diarrhea causes · feline gastrointestinal issues
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy of ronidazole (RDZ), tinidazole (TDZ), and metronidazole (MDZ) against Tritrichomonas foetus in vitro and of RDZ for treatment of feline naturally occurring or experimentally induced T. foetus infection. ANIMALS: A cat naturally infected with T. foetus infection and diarrhea. Ten specific-pathogen-free (SPF) kittens. PROCEDURE: RDZ, TDZ, and MDZ were tested for activity against 3 different feline isolates of T. foetus in vitro. RDZ then was administered to a naturally infected cat at 10 mg/kg PO q24h for 10 days. SPF kittens were infected orogastrically with feline T. foetus and treated with either placebo or RDZ (10 mg/kg PO q12h for 14 days). Cats with relapsing infection or those receiving placebo were treated subsequently with RDZ (either 30 or 50 mg/kg PO q12h for 14 days). Feces were examined for T. foetus by direct microscopy, culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing weekly. RESULTS: Both RDZ and TDZ killed T. foetus at concentrations >0.1 microg/mL in vitro. In the naturally infected cat, RDZ abolished diarrhea and T. foetus infection for 85 days after treatment, at which time infection and diarrhea relapsed. Retreatment with RDZ eradicated diarrhea and T. foetus infection for over 407 days. In experimentally induced infection, RDZ at 10 mg/kg caused initial improvement, but infection relapsed in all 5 cats 2 to 20 weeks after treatment. At 30 or 50 mg/kg, 10/10 cats were negative for T. foetus infection for follow-up durations of 21 to 30 weeks after treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Oral administration of RDZ at 30 to 50 mg/kg q12h for 14 days resolved diarrhea and eradicated infection (on the basis of polymerase chain reaction [PCR] testing) in 1 naturally infected cat and 10 experimentally inoculated cats receiving a different isolate of T. foetus.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16734086/