Sensitivity to diminazene aceturate and isometamidium chloride of trypanosomes isolated from dogs in Nsukka area, Nigeria

Abstract

Trypanosome sensitivity to diminazene aceturate (Berenil) and isometa- midium chloride (Samorin) was evaluated at two dose levels each (7 and  14 mg, and 0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg body weight, respectively) in mice infected by syringe. The trypanosomes had been isolated from clinically infected dogs taken to the University of Nigeria Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UNVTH), Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. Six and eight of the 11 infected blood samples tested (10 with Trypanosoma brucei, one with mixed T. brucei and  T. congolense) contained parasites that expressed various levels of resistance to Berenil and Samorin, respectively. Thus, three and five infected blood samples contained parasites that were considered to have low levels of resistance to Berenil and Samorin, respectively, while three samples each contained parasites that expressed moderate to high levels of resistance to the trypanocides. This trypanosome resistance to standard treatment doses of trypanocides portends serious danger to an effective chemotherapy of trypanosomosis in dogs of the area..

Trypanosome sensitivity to diminazene aceturate (Berenil) and isometa- midium chloride (Samorin) was evaluated at two dose levels each (7 and  14 mg, and 0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg body weight, respectively) in mice infected by syringe. The trypanosomes had been isolated from clinically infected dogs taken to the University of Nigeria Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UNVTH), Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. Six and eight of the 11 infected blood samples tested (10 with <em>Trypanosoma brucei</em>, one with mixed <em>T. brucei</em> and  <em>T. congolense</em>) contained parasites that expressed various levels of resistance to Berenil and Samorin, respectively. Thus, three and five infected blood samples contained parasites that were considered to have low levels of resistance to Berenil and Samorin, respectively, while three samples each contained parasites that expressed moderate to high levels of resistance to the trypanocides. This trypanosome resistance to standard treatment doses of trypanocides portends serious danger to an effective chemotherapy of trypanosomosis in dogs of the area.