Association of immunostimulant with anthelmintic on the treatment of sheep verminosis

This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of the immunostimulant combined with anthelmintic on the helminthiasis treatment in sheep. The animals of group I (n=29) received the anthelmintic albendazole (11mg kg^-1) in a single administration and the immunostimulant composed with Propionibacterium granulosum (16ug kg^-1) and lypopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli (1,2ug kg^-1) into two doses every 48 hours and the animals from group II (n=29) received anthelmintic albendazole (11mg g^-1). Samples were collected weekly during 28 days, to carry out the total and differential count of leukocytes, hematocrit and the eggs count per gram of feces (EPG). The animals that received immunostimulant combined with anthelmintic showed significantly increases of eosinophils and lymphocytes (P<0.05) compared to animals that only received the anthelmintic. In eggs count per gram of feces (EPG), there were no significant differences between groups (P>0.05). Based on these results it was concluded that immunostimulants can be used when combined with anthelminthic as an alternative therapy for the treatment of helminthiasis in sheep, since they promote the activation of immune response with participation of cells and mediators important for the removal of helminths in sheep.