Pharmacotherapeutics of drugs used in treatment of anaplasmosis and babesiosis.
Treatment of anaplasmosis and babesiosis in cattle is practical and effective when given early in the course of infection, before the onset of severe anemia or neurologic disorders. The tetracyclines (usually oxytetracycline or chlortetracycline) are the only effective specific compounds approved for use against anaplasmosis in the United States. Oxytetracycline, at the rate of 6.6 to 11 mg/kg of body weight given one to three times IM or IV, effectively moderates the course of infection. Chlortetracycline administered orally in dosages as small a 1.1 mg/kg will prevent infection and in dosages ranging from 2.2 to 11 mg/kg for 30 to 90 days will eliminate carrier infection. Babesiosis in cattle is effectively treated by a large number of babesiacidal compounds, but in practice, diminazene aceturate (3 to 5 mg/kg, IM), amicarbalide (5 to 10 mg/kg, IM), and imidocarb (1 to 3 mg/kg, IM) are most often used. However, none of these compounds is approved for use in treating babesiosis in cattle in the United States. Larger amounts of these compounds are usually required for the treatment of babesiosis in the horse and in the dog, and the elimination of babesiosis in these species is much more difficult than it is for babesiosis in cattle.