Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Preventing puppy Toxocara infection by treating pregnant dogs
By Krämer, F et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary medicine. B, Infectious diseases and veterinary public health·2006·Institute for Parasitology, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Investigations into the prevention of prenatal and lactogenic Toxocara canis infections in puppies by application of moxidectin to the pregnant dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of four pregnant beagle dogs received two doses of moxidectin, a medication used to prevent Toxocara canis infections, which can be passed to puppies before birth or through nursing. The treatment successfully kept the puppies free from infection, and both the mothers and their puppies showed no signs of the parasite. In contrast, an untreated mother and her puppies developed a Toxocara canis infection, leading to health issues in the puppies. The moxidectin treatment was effective and safe, with no side effects noted in the treated dogs.
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Abstract
Aim of the investigation was to examine whether two administrations of moxidectin to pregnant dogs could prevent pre-natal and lactogenic infections of puppies with reactivated Toxocara canis larvae. Four pregnant beagles, infected experimentally with 20 000 embryonated eggs of T. canis, were treated subcutaneously with 1 mg moxidectin per kg body weight on days 40 and 55 of pregnancy (5-13 days before parturition). One further dam and its puppies served as untreated control. Two applications of moxidectin completely prevented pre-natal and lactogenic infections in the puppies. Neither intestinal stages nor somatic larvae were found in the dams or their corresponding puppies. All puppies and dams of the treatment group remained coproscopically negative until 42 days after parturition. The administration of moxidectin did not show any side effects in the dams. None of the puppies of the treated dams showed any pathological abnormalities. In the untreated dam one adult and 26 somatic larvae of T. canis were detected at necropsy. All puppies of the untreated dam showed a patent T. canis infection from day 28 post-natum (p.n.); 296 pre-adult and adult stages of T. canis were spontaneously eliminated and 51 intestinal stages and five somatic larvae of T. canis were recovered at necropsy. In contrast to the puppies of the treated dams all negative control puppies showed blood eosinophilia after parturition and elevated liver enzyme levels.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16732879/