Administration of toltrazuril during experimental coccidiosis in mule ducks: comparison of the efficacy of a single administration at two different endogenous stages.

An experimental Eimeria mulardi coccidiosis was reproduced in mule ducks. A single dose of toltrazuril (7 mg per kg) was administered at two different endogenous stages: Day 2 (first meronts) or Day 5 (last meronts and gamonts). The efficacy of the drug was assessed on four criteria (body weight, oocyst counts, macroscopic lesions, and presence of the meronts and gamonts). To have a curative effect, a single dose of toltrazuril should be administered early on. However, a single treatment on Day 5 had a prophylactic effect.