THE USE OF TOLTRAZURIL FOR THE PREVENTION OF COCCIDIOSIS IN PIGLETS BEFORE WEANING

To determine the efficacy of toltrazuril as a prophylactic treatment f or coccidiosis in piglets caused by Isospora suis (I suis), a single 1 .0 mt dose of toltrazuril was administered orally to 1056 piglets betw een 3 and 6 days of age, in 5 piggeries. Prophylactic treatment of pig lets reduced the occurrence of coccidiosis in litters from 71% to 22%. The number of antibacterial treatments given and the number of piglet s affected per litter were also significantly reduced, resulting in so me improvement in growth rates to weaning, The severity of diarrhoea w as significantly reduced, as was the amount of oocyst excretion. The n umber of days that piglets excreted oocysts in the faeces was reduced from 4.9 days to 2.5 days, The detection of I suis in piglets with dia rrhoea was reduced from 84% in the untreated piglets to 6% in the pigl ets given the prophylactic treatment.