Comparative efficacy evaluation of Albendazole and Ivermectin drench formulation against internal parasites of donkeys in Sudan. SAWSAN M. A. IMAM (1, 2) ; TIGANI HASSAN (1); HISHAM I. SERI (3) *; TIGANI A. TIGANI (3) ; ADAM D. ABAKAR (3) 1. Department of Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, Sudan. 2. Ministry of Animal Resources, South Darfur state, Sudan. 3. Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Nyala, Sudan. Corresponding author: Dr. Hisham Ismail Seri e -mail: Abstract The therapeutic efficacy of Ivermectin and Albendazole drench formulation at the manufacturers recommended dose were evaluated in controlled trial at Nyala town, South Darfur State, Sudan. The study involved 18 donkeys naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. Treatment efficacy was based on the mean faecal egg count reduction 21 days post treatment. A faecal egg count reduction of 100% was found after treatment with Albendazole and Ivermectin. In addition efficacy percentages of Albendazole and Ivermectin against immature and adult nematode were as follows: Trichostrongylus axei 67.09% and 100%, Parascaris equorum 100% and 100%, Oxyuris equi 100% and 100%, Strongylus sp. 98.4% and 100%; and small strongyles 100% and 100%. Albendazole and Ivermectin with the single dose showed moderate efficacy (33% and 62.71%, respectively) against larvae found the cranial mesenteric artery aneurisms. No adverse reactions were observed in treated donkeys during the experiment period. Key words: Albendazole, Ivermectin, donkeys, gastrointestinal nematodes, efficacy. Introduction Horses, ponies and donkeys are hosts to a large population of parasites. In a field survey conducted by Kheir and Kheir (1981), five nematode genera were encountered in donkeys in South Darfur State: Strongylus spp., Oxyuris spp., Strongyloides spp., Parascaris spp., and Trichuris spp. Field surveys indicated that 70.1% of donkeys in Khartoum state were infested with helminth parasites (Seri et al., 2004), the incidence of infection with helminth species was 56.2% in Nyala town. Benzimidazole anthelmintics have a broad spectrum of activity against gastrointestinal helminths, including migrating strongyle larvae and lungworm infections, and are well tolerated by mammals (Mckellar and Scott, 1990). The main objective of this study is to compare the therapeutic efficacy of Albendazole and Ivermectin in a controlled trial against helminth parasites of donkeys. Materials and Methods Study animals: This study involved 18 male and female donkeys (4-10 years old). The donkeys had naturally acquired mixed parasitic infections, comprising gastrointestinal nematodes. Infections were confirmed before the beginning of the study by egg flotation. Individual egg count was determined by using a modified Mc Master technique (Anon, a986). Treatment protocol: Animals were weighed and treated as follows: animals in treatment group one received single dose of Ivermectin drench formulation at the recommended dose level (200  g/kg body weight); animals in treatment group two received single dose of Albendazole drench formulation orally at the manufacturer recommended dose (10 mg/kg); donkeys in each of the treatment groups were then observed for possible adverse reactions for two hours after treatment. Animals in the third group remained untreated as control group. Faecal samples were collected from all donkeys and analyzed the same day using a modified McMaster technique. Faecal egg counts were performed on each animal before (day 0) and after treatment at day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21. On day 21 animals were killed and necropsied. Animals were slaughtered and methods used for worm recovery were the same as those previously described by (Reinecke and Le Roux, 1972). Helminthes were identified at a later stage by placing them on glass slides, examining them microscopically and classifying them using the early description (Lichtenfels, 1975). Data analysis: The faecal egg count reduction (FECR) test was used to determine the anthelmintic efficacy. Each animal acted as its own control. Arithmetic means of the egg counts and nematode burdens were calculated to determine the mean percentage reductions, according to the following formula: FECR% = Pre-treatment EPG-Post-treatment EPG X 100 Pre-treatment EPG DayArithmetic mean (EPG)RangeMean % reduction ± ± % ± % % % % DayArithmetic mean (EPG)RangeMean % reduction ± ± % ± % % % % Table 2. Mean faecal egg counts (±SD) and reductions for Ivermectin-treated donkeys. Organs examinedControl Albendazole No.Reduction % Cranial mesenteric artery Strongylus vulgaris Stomach Gastrophilus spp Habronema spp Trichostrongylus axei Small Intestine Parascaris equorum Strongyloides westeri Caecum Gastrophilus spp Strongylus spp Cyathostomes spp Colon and rectum Strongylus spp Cyathostomes spp Oxyuris equi Table 3 Summary of worms recovered from control and animals treated with Albendazole at necropsy Organs examinedControl Ivermectin No.Reduction % Cranial mesenteric artery Strongylus vulgaris Stomach Gastrophilus spp Habronema spp Trichostrongylus axei Small Intestine Parascaris equorum Strongyloides westeri Caecum Gastrophilus spp Strongylus spp Cyathostomes spp Colon and rectum Strongylus spp Cyathostomes spp Oxyuris equi Table 4 Summary of worms recovered from control and animals treated with Ivermectin at necropsy Discussion A faecal egg count reduction of 100% was found after treatment with Ivermectin. Efficacy percentages of Ivermectin against immature and adult nematodes were as follows: Trichostrongylus axei 100%, Parascaris equorum 100%, Oxyuris equi 100%, Triodontophrus sp. 100%, Strongylus sp. 100% and small strongyles 100%. Ivermectin injectable formulation showed moderate efficacy (69.23%) against larvae found in the mesenteric artery aneurisms (Seri et al, 2005). This finding is in accordance with other findings in horses (Costa et al, 1998, Davies and Schwalbach, 2000). Doramectin an avermectin currently registered for use in sheep, cattle and swine also produced 100% efficacy when administered to donkeys in Sudan (Seri et al, 2004), and horses in South Africa (Davies and Schwalbach, 2000). In this study the presence of some Strongylus vulgaris larvae in the animals treated with Ivermectin indicated incomplete activity against arterial stages of Strongylus vulgaris as Ivermectin showed only (62.1%) efficacy against arterial stages. This result is in agreement with that of (Costa et al., 1998), who reported (67.8%) efficacy of Ivermectin against S. vulgaris larvae found in the mesenteric artery aneurisms. Faecal egg count reduction of 100% was found after treatment with doramectin intramuscularly, but only 99.24% reduction was found after subcutaneous injection. At necropsy, only adult nematodes and mainly Strongylus vulgaris (L4) were recovered (Seri et al, 2004b). This also agrees with our finding in this study. Results Faecal egg count reductions. The results of day zero to day 21 mean EPG values are presented in Tables 1 and 2 together with the mean faecal egg count reductions. Albendazole and Ivermectin produced 100% reduction of nematode eggs on day 7 onwards. On day 0 all donkeys had positive egg counts with a range of and EPG in Albendazole and Ivermectin groups respectively. On day 14, at Albendazole and Ivermectin-treated groups all donkeys had negative egg counts to the end of the experiment. Post-mortem findings: The results of post-mortem findings and the nematodes collected were present in tables 3 and 4. The results obtained indicated that animals received Ivermectin drench showed zero nematode burdens except for the larval stages of strongylus vulgaris larvae (L4) present in the cranial mesenteric artery reductions Table 1. Mean faecal egg counts (±SD) and reduction for Albendazole-treated donkeys. Conclusion A single oral dose of Albendazole was moderately efficient against naturally acquired infections of adult Cyathostomes, Strongylus spp., Trichostrongylus axei, Parascaris equorum, Oxyuris equi, and Triodontophorus spp.; gastrointestinal nematodes in donkeys. These findings suggest that further research into the use of albendazole drench formulation as equine anthelmintics might be warranted References Costa, A. J.; Barbosa, O. F.; Moraes, F. R.; Acuna, A. H.; Rocha, U. F.; Soares, V. E.; Paullilo, A. C.; Sanches, A. (1998). 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