Efficacy of different treatment regimens of marbofloxacin in canine visceral leishmaniosis: A pilot study

This phase II, randomized, open-label field trial was designed to evaluate and compare the safety and efficacy of four treatment durations (10, 20, 28 or 40 days) with marbofloxacin administered orally at the dosage of 2 mg/kg once a day for canine visceral leishmaniosis. Twenty-four dogs naturally infected with visceral leishmaniosis and without biochemical disorder evidences of renal insufficiency, were recruited by two Greek veterinarian clinics. They were also randomly assigned to one of the four treatment duration groups, and have been clinically, haematologically, biochemically and parasitologically followed-up regularly for 9 months. Efficacy was achieved for 5/6 dogs treated for 28 days, 4/6 dogs treated for 10 or 20 days and for 3/6 dogs treated for 40 days. Moreover, efficacy was reached more quickly (58.4 days) in dogs treated for 28 days. Improvement of clinical signs tended to be better and faster in the 28 days treatment group too. After 9 months of follow-up, a total of three cases could be considered as relapsing (two dogs treated for 40 days and one dog treated for 28 days). There was a significant reduction in amastigotes density in macrophages after 3 months in the four groups when compared with the parasite density at inclusion. No adverse effects were noticed during this 9 months study. Results obtained with marbofloxacin at the dosage of 2 mg/kg once a day for 28 days seem encouraging and may offer a safe alternative for treating canine visceral leishmaniosis.