DRUG-COMBINATIONS IN THE CONTROL OF DOG A ND CAT HELMINTHOSES - REVIEW

Helminths of dogs and cats with a public health importance give motive s to have an up-to-date knowledge on the therapy, as well as anthelmin tics used for prevention (18, 19). To choose the appropriate chemother apeutic agent is difficult not only because of the wide range of prepa rations, however it depends also on the health state and age of animal s, on the unadvantageous keeping and feeding conditions, possibilities of re-infections and - last but not least - on the ''purse'' of owner s. The range of preparations available for controlling the helminths o f carnivores showed a sudden development during the past 10 years, esp ecially by marketing the combined preparations containing many effecti ve agents (i.e. febantel + pyrantel + praziquantel; pyrantel + praziqu antel; fenbendazole + praziquantel; mebendazole + praziquantel; oxiben dazole + niclosamide). In the competition, the pharmaceutical works ar e leaded to develop such preparations which are safe and they can ensu re an effective control for different helminths of dogs and cats by a single application. Deworming of dogs should even be started at the ag e of 2 weeks owing to the frequent Toxocara infestation (preimaginal d ehelminthization), because of the intrauterine transmission the eggs a re shed by the faeces from the 22nd day of life. First treatment of ca ts should be started one-two weeks later because there is not. any pre natal infestation only galactogenic (29). Of the tapeworms, Dipylidium infestation can be observed first, even at the age of one month. The animals can be infected with other tapeworm species mainly by eating r aw meat, and visceras. Thus, the use of preparation containing cestoci dal drugs is unnecessary in case of a few weeks old animal. Wide range of available preparations and systematic treatment of animals raise t he question whether an aimed therapy would not be more useful to avoid the unnecessary treatments. That means that the new infestation devel oping from the larvae present in the tissues (first of all T. canis) a nd the presence of worms resistant to the treatments (15, 72) should b e controlled by faecal examination in dogs and cats before and after t reatments.