Leishmaniasis in dogs: treatment with marbofloxacin and its efficacy.
The visceral form of leishmaniasis is a severe disease that normally requires lengthy treatment, so drug toxicity should always be taken into consideration. Quinolones are a group of drugs commonly used to treat both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial infections, and their therapeutic effect is through the inhibition of DNA gyrase. Recent studies have shown that by inhibiting DNA gyrase, quinolones can inhibit the growth of some forms of the protozoon during their life cycle1. These studies, combined with the knowledge that a lot of skin lesions caused by Leishmania are superinfected with bacteria from the animal’s own skin constituted the basis for using quinolones as a treatment for this disease.
Marbofloxacin is a synthetic third-generation fluoroquinolone for veterinary use only. Given its broad antibacterial activity, it was an ideal candidate for efficacy testing as a treatment for leishmaniasis.
A study was conducted in 24 dogs aged 2 to 9 years brought to two veterinary clinics in Athens with leishmania infection histopathologically confirmed in the lymph nodes and no prior antibiotic therapy to assess the efficacy of the quinolone marbofloxacin. The dogs were randomised to four groups and given the treatment for different durations (10, 20, 28, or 40 days), then followed up for 9 months. During follow-up visits, subjects were clinically assessed (if they showed signs of leishmania infection), laboratory tests conducted to observe any analytical impacts and protozoon screening performed on multiple lymph node aspirates.
The results of the study showed complete resolution of the skin lesions, with ophthalmic problems being the only sides effects that remained unresolved in some dogs from across the different groups. At the end of the study, just 3 dogs showed signs of recurrent leishmaniasis, and the rest were cured. In terms of treatment duration, there were no significant differences between groups with respect to the time to cure, although recurrences were observed in the 40-day dosing regimen. Finally, no side effects were observed throughout the follow-up.
Therefore, the study concluded that marbofloxacin is a safe drug that could be used to treat leishmaniasis in a dosing regimen of no more than 28 days (the longest dosing regimen coincided with relapses), only combining with an ophthalmic agent to resolve any problems in that respect, if required. This treatment should be complemented with mosquito repellents and a specific diet or correct nutrition to help prevent reinfection and recurrences.
