Effects of praziquantel on experimental Schistosoma bovis infection in goats

The effect of praziquantel against experimental Schistosoma bovis infection in West African Dwarf goats was investigated. Thirty goats were exposed to 2000 cercariae each and 15 of those received a praziquantel treatment (60 mg kg-1) 13 weeks post-infection. One day, 1 week and 4 weeks post-treatment representative goats from each group were killed and worms were recovered by perfusion. For comparison, parasite-free control animals were monitored, some of which were given praziquantel. Every second week during the study, faecal samples were collected. The cure rate was 100% 1 day, 99.4% 1 week and 95.7% 4 weeks post-treatment. Tissue egg counts were significantly reduced (P < 0.001) 4 weeks post-treatment in all parts of the intestines, but not in the liver. Faecal egg counts were reduced by 84.1% 1 week and by 98.3% 3 weeks after treatment, the reduction being highly significant both 1 week 3 weeks after treatment (P < 0.001). Overall strong correlations between the number of worm pairs, tissue egg counts and the final faecal egg count were observed, indicating that the faecal egg counts during infection and following treatment can be used as a guideline for the pathology associated with the infection.