Efficacy of toltrazuril and ponazuril against experimental Neospora caninum infection in mice

Neosporosis is a disease affecting predominantly fetal development in cattle and dog hosts; and it may cause neuromuscular disfunction in infected newborn calves and pups. Predispositions - including, e.g. transient immunosuppression during pregnancy - may result in an increased dissemination of the parasite within the host or its offspring. Chemotherapeutic treatment of neosporosis may be an issue, provided that an appropriate drug is made available. In this respect, we describe the use of a mouse model for the evaluation of toltrazuril and ponazuril medication as a means of preventing parasite dissemination and subsequent formation of cerebral lesions. Toltrazuril- and ponazuril-treated mice were experimentally infected intraperitoneally (i.p) with 2 x 10(6) Neospora caninum tachyzoites. The infection was monitored at three levels: clinically, by assessing symptoms, histologically, by assessing the occurrence of cerebral lesions and parasites by immunohistochemistry, and on the molecular level, by detection of parasite DNA using PCR. Chemotherapy using either toltrazuril or ponazuril, both applied in a drinking-water formulation (20 mg toltrazuril or ponazuril kg(-1) body weight day(-1)) completely prevented the formation of cerebral lesions in all treated animals, as assessed by immunohistochemistry. PCR analyses of these treated animals showed that DNA-detectability was reduced by 91% and 90% upon toltrazuril and ponazuril medication, respectively.