OBJECTIVETo identify more effective and less toxic drugs to treat animal toxoplasmosis.

METHODSEfficacy of seven kinds of sulfonamides against Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) in an acute murine model was evaluated. The mice used throughout the study were randomly assigned to many groups (10 mice each), which either remained uninfected or were infected intraperitoneally with tachyzoites of T. gondii (strains RH and CN). All groups were then treated with different sulfonamides and the optimal treatment protocol was determined candidates. Sulfadiazine-sodium (SD) was used for comparison.

RESULTSThe optimal therapy involved gavaging mice twice per day with 250 mg/kg bw of sulfachloropyrazine-sodium (SPZ) for five days. Using this protocol, the average survival time and the time-point of 50% fatalities were prolonged significantly compared with SD treatment. Treatment with SPZ protected 40% of mice from death, and the heart and kidney tissue of these animals was parasite-free, as determined by nested-PCR. SPZ showed excellent therapeutic effects in the treatment of T. gondii in an acute murine model and is therefore a promising drug candidate for the treatment and prevention of T. gondii in animals.

CONCLUSIONSIt can be concluded that the effective drug sulfachloropyrazine may be the new therapeutic options against animal toxoplasmosis.