Description
Toltrazuril 5% is the most effective, non-invasive treatment for Coccidiosis on the market in as few as 1-2 doses. Liquid Toltrazuril that can kills coccidia with one or two doses. This is a revolutionary product that is safer and more effective than Albon without being as harsh on the system. The chemical structure is very similar to Ponazuril, which is a metabolite of Toltrazuril. Toltrazuril is about 50% absorbed after oral administation then highest concentrations are found in the liver where it is rapidly metabolized into the sulfone derivative Ponazuril. Doses up to 10x have been found to have no adverse affect in horses and 5x in poultry have been well tolerated. Toltrazuril has activity against many different types of coccidia at all stages.
The dose of Toltrazuril 5% suspension is 20 mg/kg, or 10 mg/0.2 mL per pound. In a published study, a single dose of Toltrazuril cured coccidiosis in puppies, as long as adequate environmental cleanup is performed. However, it is recommended to repeat the treatment weekly for a couple of weeks. It is CRITICAL to clean the environment to rid it of coccidia. This drug is most effective when it is used at the age of 4-6 weeks to PREVENT coccidia infection in kittens.
Toltrazuril is designed to dose cats before the presence of clinical signs. Most catteries have issues with coccidiosis in young kittens around 5 weeks of age, meaning treatment should be given around day 28 so as to kill the early stages of the protozoa. The treatment will not cause sloughing of the intestinal epithelial cells. The coccidiosis does a fine job of that on its own. Intestinal cells remain intact and functional while the single cell stages of the cocci are dead, as evidenced by staining techniques in studies. As Toltrazuril is cidal, kittens do not have to depend on their immune systems to eliminate the cocci as they would with a drug that only treats symptoms.
It is very difficult to judge when a kitten is infected, which is why administration prior to clinical symptoms is recommended. The intent is to kill the protozoa before there is damage to the villi to clear the infection. In this way, the kittens will not develop the normal clinical signs of diarrhea. If you can identify oocysts in fecal exam, the protozoa has completed its reproductive cycle. The drug can not penetrate the oocyst wall to kill this stage, but treatment at the first signs of a clinical case will still help to limit the severity and duration of the infection as the Toltrazuril will kill single cell stages that have not reproduced sexually yet.