Sulphonamides in the Treatment of Caecal Coccidiosis of Chickens

Abstract

Beneficial results obtained with sulphamezathine (sulphadimethylpyrimidine) and sulphadiazine (sulphapyrimidine) in the treatment of caecal coccidiosis in chickens have been reported by Horton-Smith and Taylor (1942, 1945, who found the mortality among treated chicks to be reduced by 50 to 73 per cent of that among untreated controls in induced epidemics. Hawkins (1943) also obtained satisfactory results when a saturated sulphamezathine solution was substituted for drinking-water 98 hours after infection of chicks. Ripsom and Herrick (1945) found sulphadiazine to be effective when administered in the food, and Swales (1944) found that both sulphamezathine and sulphamerazine (sulphamethylpyrimidine) had a definite curative effect upon established infections even up to the time when intestinal haemorrhage appeared.Although good results were obtained in the treatment of caecal coccidiosis in chickens by dosing with sulphamezathine incorporated in the food and as a saturated solution in drinking-water, neither of these methods of dosing was perfect. It is difficult in practice to obtain a completely uniform mixture of a small amount of drug with dry food. The low solubility of the drug makes the preparation of saturated solutions of sulphamezathine from the powder troublesome, and such solutions are apt to vary in strength according to the hardness or softness of the water used and the method of preparing the solution. Sulphapyrazine and all the sulphapyrimidine derivatives are more soluble in hard water than in distilled or soft water because the calcium salts are more soluble than the free drugs.

The Activity of Bisphenols and Diphenols Against Cecal Coccidiosis (E. Tenella) in Chickens

“…These experiments indicate that the bisphenols will combat only the early stages of E. tenella infection in chickens. Comparative tests demonstrated the ability of sulfamethazine to suppress later tissue stages of the parasite development as reported earlier by Horton-Smith and Taylor (1942). The results also indicate that delayed treatment with sulfaguanidine will exert a moderate inhibitory action.…”

Gordon memorial lecture: Coccidiosis control: Past, present and future

“…The first effective drugs to be used for the treatment of coccidiosis were the sulphonamides, sulphanilamide (Levine, 1939) and sulphadimidine (Horton-Smith and Taylor, 1945). These drugs were used to treat established infections; not until sulphaquinoxaline (Grumbles et al, 1948;Peterson and Munro, 1949) and nitrophenide (Waletzky et al, 1949) were found to be effective at low concentrations in preventing coccidiosis could the concept of continuous medication of broilers be developed.…”

“…These drugs include sulphaquinoxaline, sulphadimidine, sulphadimethoxine, sulphanitran and sulphaguanidine. They are active against developing meronts (Horton- Smith and Taylor, 1945 ;Cuckler and Ott, 1947) and sexual stages (Horton- Long and Jeffers, 1982). The sulphonamides have a broad spectrum of activity against the different species of Eimeria.…”

Vitamin requirements of the Coccidia of the chicken

“…As several coccidiostats are known to be vitamin antagonists, it follows that the coccidia are dependent upon a supply of certain vitamins. Thus the coccidia are known to require ^9-aminobenzoic acid (PAB), the sulphonamides being antagonized by this vitamin (Horton-Smith & Boyland, 1946;Waletzky & Hughes, 1946;Warren & Ball, 1963); they require folic acid, the coccidiostatic action of pyrimethamine being antagonized by this vitamin Joyner, 1960); thiamine is also required as deduced from the coccidiostatic action of amprolium, a thiamine antagonist (Cuckler, Garzillo, Malanga & McManus, 1960;Rogers et al 1960;Warren & Ball, 1963). Chemotherapeutic antagonism has also shown that nicotinic acid is required, as demonstrated by the potent activity of nicotinamide antagonists (Ball, Warren & Parnell, 1965).…”