The effect of Spirotrypan on Eperythrozoon ovis in sheep
Sheriff, D.
Veterinary Record 93(10): 288-289
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 4762297 Document Number: 65363
Slow i/v injection of 5 or 10 ml of Spirotrypan Forte in 16 Merino sheep, aged 4-48 months, all with active or latent E. coli infections, eradicated blood parasites within 20-60 minutes, as shown by negative smears and failure of blood inoculations to infect susceptible sheep. When challenged between 6 and 87 days after treatment, 14 of the sheep became reinfected; the remaining two had previously suffered a complete parasitaemic episode, and may have residual immunity which would have waned with time. Hence the drug reliably eliminated E. ovis, and is useful for providing E. ovis-free animals for experiments; but since sheep rapidly become susceptible to reinfection, since the drug is expensive, and since there are brief, but sometimes severe, symptoms of toxicity after treatment, Spirotrypan is not recommended for use in the field.