Bleyen Nele, De Gussem Koen, Pham Anh Dao Nguyen, Ons Ellen, Van Gerven Nani, Goddeeris Bruno M
Division of Gene Technology, Department of Biosystems, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Catholic University Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Vet Parasitol. 2009 Nov 12;165(3-4):248-55. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.07.007. Epub 2009 Jul 15.
Histomonosis (blackhead or infectious enterohepatitis) is a disease of gallinaceous birds, especially of turkeys, and is caused by the protozoan Histomonas meleagridis. Since the ban of all chemoprophylactic and chemotherapeutic products against this disease in the European Union, this parasite causes a considerable amount of economical problems in the poultry industry. Research which could ultimately lead to the discovery of new drugs against this disease is thus highly necessary. Hence, in this study, the efficacy of paromomycin against histomonosis in turkeys was investigated. First, the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of this drug against H. meleagridis and its effect on the weight gain of turkeys was determined. Adding paromomycin to the feed (400 ppm as well as 200 ppm paromomycin) or to the drinking water (420 mg paromomycin per liter water, added prior to or on the day of challenge) significantly lowered the mortality rate and the caecal and liver lesion scores after an intracloacal infection compared to infected untreated birds. However, when paromomycin was administered to turkeys in the drinking water after the challenge, no significant differences in mortality or in lesion scores could be observed compared to the infected untreated control group. This demonstrates that paromomycin exerts a purely preventive action against histomonosis in turkeys. Additionally, the weight gain of the treated birds was positively influenced by the use of the drug, as the average weight gain of all treated groups (except for the group treated at the day of first mortality) was significantly higher than that of the untreated control group. Finally, the target site of paromomycin was detected in the SS rRNA gene of H. meleagridis. Consequently, the susceptibility to paromomycin can be correlated to the presence of the binding site of the drug at the 3' end of the small subunit rRNA gene of the parasite. In conclusion, paromomycin can be used as a new prophylactic measure in the control of histomonosis in turkeys.
组织滴虫病（黑头病或传染性肠肝炎）是一种鸡形目禽类疾病，尤其多见于火鸡，由原生动物火鸡组织滴虫（Histomonas meleagridis）引起。自欧盟禁止使用所有针对该疾病的化学预防和化学治疗产品以来，这种寄生虫给家禽业造成了相当大的经济问题。因此，开展最终可能促成发现抗该疾病新药的研究非常必要。于是，在本研究中，对巴龙霉素治疗火鸡组织滴虫病的疗效进行了研究。首先，测定了该药物对火鸡组织滴虫的预防和治疗效果及其对火鸡体重增加的影响。与未治疗的感染禽类相比，在饲料中添加巴龙霉素（400 ppm以及200 ppm巴龙霉素）或在饮水中添加（每升水添加420 mg巴龙霉素，在攻毒前或攻毒当天添加），可显著降低泄殖腔感染后的死亡率以及盲肠和肝脏病变评分。然而，在攻毒后给火鸡饮用添加了巴龙霉素的水，与未治疗的感染对照组相比，在死亡率或病变评分方面未观察到显著差异。这表明巴龙霉素对火鸡组织滴虫病仅具有预防作用。此外，使用该药物对治疗组禽类的体重增加有积极影响，因为所有治疗组（除首次出现死亡当天治疗的组外）的平均体重增加显著高于未治疗的对照组。最后，在火鸡组织滴虫的SS rRNA基因中检测到了巴龙霉素的作用靶点。因此，对巴龙霉素的敏感性可与该药物在寄生虫小亚基rRNA基因3'端结合位点的存在相关联。总之，巴龙霉素可作为控制火鸡组织滴虫病的一种新的预防措施。
