Designing a treatment protocol with voriconazole to eliminate from experimentally inoculated pigeons

Lies A. Beernaert , Frank Pasmans , Kris Baert , Lieven Van Waeyenberghe , Koen Chiers , Freddy Haesebrouck , An Martel

To investigate the efficacy of voriconazole for the treatment of aspergillosis, three groups of six racing pigeons () were inoculated in the apical part of the right lung with 2x10 conidia of an avian derived strain. The minimal inhibitory concentration of voriconazole for this strain was 0.25μg/ml. In two groups, voriconazole treatment was started upon appearance of the first clinical signs and continued for fourteen days. The third group was sham treated. The voriconazole treated pigeons received voriconazole orally at a dose of 10mg/kg body weight (BW) q12h (group 1) or 20mg/kg BW q24h (group 2). Sixteen days post inoculation all surviving pigeons were euthanized. Weight loss, clinical scores daily mortality, lesions at necropsy and isolation of were compared between all groups. In both voriconazole treated groups, a significant reduction in clinical signs and lesions was observed. Administering voriconazole at 10mg/kg BW q12h eliminated and administering voriconazole at 20mg/kg BW q24h reduced isolation rates. Mild histological liver abnormalities were found in group 1 (10mg/kg BW q12h), while mild histological as well as macroscopic liver abnormalities were found in group 2 (20mg/kg BW q24h).

Mots clés: Voriconazole; Experimental Aspergillus fumigatus infection; Antifungal treatment; Avian

Lies A. Beernaert, Frank Pasmans, Kris Baert, Lieven Van Waeyenberghe, Koen Chiers, et al.. Designing a treatment protocol with voriconazole to eliminate from experimentally inoculated pigeons. Veterinary Microbiology, 2009, 139 (3-4), pp.393. ⟨10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.06.007⟩. ⟨hal-00526934⟩