Pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi is an insidious, often fatal,
infection of foals. It causes
However, rifampicin is important for treatment of tuberculosis
in humans, and there is mounting pressure to reduce its use in veterinary medicine.
This has led to a search for alternative treatments.
A report in the Equine Veterinary Journal by Wetzig and
colleagues has shown that a different combination of antibiotics is no less effective
for treating Rhodococcus equi bronchopneumonia in foals.
In their study, they found that foals treated with azithromycin
(AZM) and doxycycline (DOX) responded similarly to those treated with AZM – RIF.
A total of 240 foals with mild to moderate bronchopnenumonia
were included in the controlled, randomised and double‐blinded clinical trial. They
were divided into three treatment groups:
- AZM (5mg/kg) + DOX (10mg/kg) twice daily
- AZM (10mg/kg) + RIF (10mg/kg) once daily
- Untreated controls.
Progress of the condition was monitored by physical
examination and thoracic ultrasonography, performed by individuals unaware of which
treatment each foal was receiving.
Foals whose condition worsened were considered treatment
failures and were removed from the study.
The research team found little difference between the
recovery rate of foals in the two treatment groups. Of the AZM-DOX group, 80 of
81 foals recovered, compared with all 81 foals in the AZM-RIF group. Only 57 of
78 control foals recovered without treatment.
The researchers conclude that AZM-DOX is as effective as
AZM-RIF in treating mild-moderate bronchopneumonia in foals. They suggest that
doxycycline is likely to be a suitable alternative to rifampicin in such cases.
For more details, see:
Efficacy of the combination of doxycycline and azithromycin for the
treatment of foals with mild to moderate bronchopneumonia
M. Wetzig, M. Venner, S. Giguère
Equine Vet Journal (2019)
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