Evaluation of the clinical safety and efficacy of fenbendazole and levamisole in the control of Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae in Colossoma macropomum: Acanthocephalosis treatments

• Published in: Aquaculture international 2022-06, Vol.30 (3), p.1341-1351
• Main Authors: de Alexandre Sebastião, Fernanda, Souza Rocha, Maria Juliete, Rodrigues Brandão, Franmir, Braga de Oliveira, Maria Inês, de Melo Souza, Damy Caroline, Carlos do Nascimento Barbosa, Bruna, Castro Monteiro, Patrícia, Majolo, Cláudia, Crescêncio, Roger, Tavares-Dias, Marcos, Campos Chagas, Edsandra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Life Sciences; Zoology
• ISSN: 0967-6120; 1573-143X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10499-022-00854-2

Occurrences of parasitic infections caused by Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae in Colossoma macropomum (tambaqui), especially in the northern region of Brazil, have increased in the past two decades and have caused economic losses in tambaqui production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo efficacy and clinical safety of fenbendazole and levamisole in controlling and treating N. buttnerae in tambaqui for 30 days. Juvenile tambaqui naturally infected with N. buttnerae were distributed in 15 tanks ( n = 12 per 1,000 L-tank), constituting five treatments, in triplicate. Treatments were administered via diet (mg kg −1 of live weight): control (0 mg kg −1 ), F1 (100 mg kg −1 of fenbendazole), F2 (200 mg kg −1 of fenbendazole), L1 (200 mg kg −1 of levamisole), and L2 (300 mg kg −1 of levamisole). Fish survival rate was 100% during the entire experimental period. Fenbendazole treatments were not effective against N. buttnerae ; however, L1 and L2 showed efficacy of 73.4 and 99.15%, respectively. Treatments with fenbendazole or levamisole did not affect the growth parameters of tambaqui. F1 and F2 showed significant reduction in the hematocrit values when compared to L1, and hemoglobin values were significantly reduced in F1 when compared to L1, L2, and the control group. There were no significant differences in RBC, MCV, and CHCM. The plasma glucose value was statistically lower in F1 than in the L1 ( p = 0.03) and L2 ( p = 0.02) treatments. For alanine aminotransferase, there was a significant reduction ( p = 0.004) in the F1 and F2 groups compared to the L2 group. No statistical difference was observed for aspartate aminotransferase among the treatments. More studies are warranted to further evaluate other therapeutic strategies using shorter periods for controlling and efficiently treating N. buttnerae.