Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Comparing two drug combos to treat Babesia gibsoni in dogs
By Lin, Emerald Cheng-Yi et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2012·Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The therapeutic efficacy of two antibabesial strategies against Babesia gibsoni.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 30 dogs with Babesia gibsoni infections, which can cause symptoms like fever and lethargy, were treated with two different drug combinations. One group received a combination of clindamycin, diminazene, and imidocarb, while the other group was given atovaquone and azithromycin. After about 23 to 42 days of treatment, more dogs in the clindamycin group fully recovered compared to those in the atovaquone group, although some dogs relapsed after treatment. The study suggests that the clindamycin combination may be a better option for treating this infection in dogs.
People also search for: dog Babesia gibsoni treatment · Babesia gibsoni symptoms in dogs · clindamycin for dog infections
Abstract
Various combination strategies for treating Babesia gibsoni have been described. However, relapses after administering some combinations of antibabesial drugs and the presence of drug-resistant B. gibsoni still pose significant challenges to veterinarians. To compare the efficacy of a combination of clindamycin, diminazene, and imidocarb (CDI) to that of a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin (AA) for the treatment of B. gibsoni and to correlate drug efficacy with B. gibsoni mutations, 30 client-owned dogs with natural B. gibsoni infections were collected in the study. 17 dogs were treated with AA, and 13 dogs were treated with CDI combination. Hematological parameters were recorded on the day that the dogs were presented for treatment and during treatment. To detect the parasitic DNA, the B. gibsoni 18S rRNA gene was amplified, and to analyze the mutations, the cytochrome b (CYTb) gene was sequenced. The therapy duration for all of the dogs that recovered was 23.3±7.8 days in the AA group and 41.7±12.4 days in the CDI group. Nine of the 17 dogs in the AA group and 11 of the 13 dogs in the CDI group completely recovered. Seven dogs in the AA group and 2 dogs in the CDI group relapsed after treatment. The M121I mutation in the B. gibsoni CYTb gene was detected in all of the samples that were collected from AA-relapsed and AA-nonremission dogs. The dogs in the CDI group exhibited higher recovery rates and lower relapse rates during treatment for B. gibsoni infection. In addition, the detected M121I mutation was associated with AA treatment. The CDI combination is a promising alternative treatment strategy for B. gibsoni.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22222008/