Pharmacokinetics and anthelmintic efficacy of injectable eprinomectin in goats

The objective of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetics and the anthelmintic efficacy of eprinomectin (Eprecis® 20 mg/mL) following subcutaneous administration to goats. Forty non-lactating female Alpine goats aged between one and three years and weighing between 32.7 and 59.5 kg, were randomly allocated to one of the following groups (8 animals per group): two groups were not infected and were treated at a dose of either 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg BW of eprinomectin, two groups were experimentally infected with nematodes and treated at 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg BW of eprinomectin similarly and one group was infected and left untreated (control). Infection consisted in a single and simultaneous administration of 5000 Haemonchus contortus and 12,500 Trichostrongylus colubriformis infective larvae. No local or general adverse reaction was visually observed whatever the dose rate. The maximal plasma concentrations (Cmax) were 20.68 ± 12.85 vs 39.79 ± 17.25 μg/L and the plasma bioavailabilities (AUC) 83.45 ± 34.75 vs 169.37 ± 43.44 μg*d/L for 0.2 vs 0.4 mg/kg respectively. The efficacy against H. contortus and T. colubriformis was 97.8 and 98.7% at 0.2 mg/kg and 98.4% and >99.9% at 0.4 mg/kg respectively. The differences in worm burdens between the two dose rates were only significant for T. colubriformis. These results indicate that injectable eprinomectin is a potent anthelmintic against the two major gastrointestinal nematodes in goats. Additional information is needed regarding pharmacokinetics in lactating goats and milk residues.