Volume 13, Issue 2: 2023 - Article 17

Comparative effects of treatment with diminazene aceturate and isometamidium chloride on kidney function of Trypanosoma brucei infected dogs

Polycarp O. Akpa ¹ * and Chigozie S. Ukwueze ²
1 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
² Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Nigeria.

Abstract
Trypanosome infections are commonly associated with kidney dysfunction. This study evaluated the effects of treatment with two commonly used trypanocides [diminazene aceturate (DA) and isometamidium chloride (IMC)] on kidney function of dogs experimentally infected with Trypanosoma brucei.   Twenty dogs were used for the study. The dogs were randomly assigned to four groups (Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4) with five dogs per group as follows: Group 1 – Infected and treated with 7.0 mg/kg DA; Group 2 – Uninfected Untreated Normal Control; Group 3 – Infected Untreated Control; Group 4 – Infected and treated with 0.5 mg/kg IMC. One million T. brucei trypanosomes were used as the infection dose, and treatment with the trypanocides was done on Day 7 post-infection. Parasitaemia was checked daily until infection established and blood samples for assay of serum creatinine and urea (markers of kidney function) were collected weekly for the nine weeks of the experiment. Results showed that treatments with DA and IMC were able to eliminate the parasites from the blood stream of the treated dogs. However, relapse of infection was observed in two of the dogs from Group 1 and one dog in Group 4 by days 35 and 56 post infection (PI), respectively. The infection led to significantly (p < 0.05) higher mean serum urea levels by day 21 PI, and significantly higher mean serum creatinine levels by days 14 and 21 PI, when compared with the normal control (Group 2). However, by day 49 PI and beyond, only serum urea levels was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the Group 4 (IMC- treated) when compared to the normal control. These findings suggest that treatment with DA stabilized serum levels of creatinine and urea, and thus kidney function in Trypanosoma brucei infected dogs, more than treatment with isometamidium chloride.

Keywords: Trypanosoma brucei infection; Dogs; Kidney function; Diminazene aceturate; Isometamidium chloride.

How to cite this article:
Akpa PO and Ukwueze CS (2023). Comparative effects of treatment with diminazene aceturate and isometamidium chloride on
kidney function of Trypanosoma brucei infected dogs. Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences, 13(2): 330 – 339.

* Correspondence: E-mail: Polycarp.akpa@mouau.edu.ng    Phone: +2348033506623

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