Effect of Isosporiasis Prevention with Toltrazuril on Long-Term Pig Performance

Abstract

The efficacy of toltrazuril treatment was assessed in two experiments in Polish swine herds. Experiment 1 included a toltrazuril treatment group, Group A (n = 410), and untreated control, Group B (n = 386). Time to sale in Group A was 108 days versus 120 days for Group B, with average body weights at sale of 114.2 kg and 108.8 kg, respectively (P < 0.05). In experiment 2, the health status and body weight gain of 238 piglets treated with toltrazuril (Group D) were compared to 235 untreated piglets (Group K). A similar difference was observed in average body weights of slaughtered animals, being on average 104 kg in Group D and 101 kg in Group K (P < 0.01). Animals from Group D were slaughtered 5 days earlier than animals from Group K (day 166 versus day 171). Data from clinical trials suggest treatment of coccidiosis with toltrazuril offering potential for improved animal welfare and yields, however this has remained unproven in field conditions in large swine production facilities. The present study confirms the efficacy of toltrazuril treatment when used in the field and the subsequent positive impact on time to weaning, time to market, and on weight gain at all time points.

Cystoisospora suis Control in Europe Is Not Always Effective

“…Although oocyst shedding can occur despite toltrazuril treatment in single cases (13,16,23) a surprising finding of this study was that farms that used toltrazuril did not show a significant decrease of C. suis infection or diarrhea compared to farms without treatment. This is in distinct contrast to several laboratory and field-studies that demonstrated the high efficacy of toltrazuril in the control of cystoisosporosis experimentally and in the field (13,(16)(17)(18)24). Conceivable reasons for that could be application errors or antiparasitic resistance.…”

“…On pig farms where Cystoisospora-related diarrhea occurs, metaphylactic treatment with the coccidiocidal drug toltrazuril is recommended. It has been shown to be efficient in several laboratory and field studies and can thus enhance animal welfare as well as farm productivity (13,(16)(17)(18). Toltrazuril is now frequently used to control piglet cystoisosporosis in Europe (19).…”

Experimentally confirmed toltrazuril resistance in a field isolate of Cystoisospora suis

“…Use of Baycox® in piglet coccidiosis was first authorized in Australia in 1998 to be administered once in the first week of life at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight (BW) [19]. A single oral treatment with toltrazuril administered during the prepatent period provided effective and sustained suppression of oocyst shedding and diarrhea in piglets experimentally infected with C. suis [17,[20][21][22] and under field conditions [23][24][25][26][27][28]. However, emerging resistance in poultry coccidia against anticoccidials including toltrazuril is of growing concern [29][30][31].…”

Efficacy of an injectable toltrazuril – gleptoferron (Forceris®) to control coccidiosis (Cystoisospora suis) in comparison with iron supplemented piglets without anticoccidial treatment

“…Toltrazuril treatment reduces not only the level and duration of oocyst excretion but also the risk of diarrhoea ( Mundt et al, 2007 , Joachim and Mundt, 2011 ) and may reduce the need for antibacterial treatments ( Driesen et al, 1995 ). Furthermore, toltrazuril treated piglets display a better feed conversion ( McOrist et al, 2010 ) and body weight development after weaning ( Rypula et al, 2012 ). As a result, the farmer benefits economically as stated by Maes et al (2007) .…”