Efficacy of Kelamidium® in the prevention and treatment of Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection in albino rats

The efficacy of Kelamidium® in the prevention and treatment of experimental Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection of albino rats was studied. Adult albino rats (55) weighing between 147 and 240 g were used for the study. The rats were kept in metal cages in a fly-proof house and were adequately fed and given water ad libitum. Two experiments were carried out. In experiment I (chemotherapy), 30 adult albino rats were divided into six groups of five rats each, whereas in experiment II (chemoprophylaxis), 25 adult albino rats were divided into five groups of five rats each. In both experiments, groups I and II were uninfected control and infected untreated control, respectively. In experiment I, rats in groups III and V were each infected with 5. 0 × 105 trypanosomes and were later treated with 0. 5 mg/kg of Kelamidium® (low-dose treatment), and rats in groups IV and VI were infected with 5. 0 × 105 trypanosomes and treated with 1. 0 mg/kg of Kelamidium® (high-dose treatment). Treatment was given to rats in groups III and IV at day 7 postinfection (PI; early treatment), whereas groups V and VI were treated at day 10 PI (late treatment). In experiment II, rats in groups III, IV, and V were each treated with 2. 0 mg/kg of Kelamidium® at day 0 and were later infected at days 14, 28, and 42 PI, respectively, with 5. 0 × 105 trypanosomes. Parasites were detectable in the blood of the infected rats in all the infected groups in experiment I and in group II in experiment II, 4-7 days PI. Parasitemia, however, was not recorded in the remaining groups in experiment II. The drug cleared the parasites from the blood of the infected rats in experiment I, 2-7 days posttreatment (PT). Relapse of infection, however, occurred in all the infected treated groups. It was thus concluded that Kelamidium® may be more useful as a prophylactic agent than as a chemotherapeutic agent in the management of animal trypanosomosis. © 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited.