Anthelmintic activity of praziquantel on Raillietina tetragona in chickens.

Praziquantel was tested against mature (17-day-old) and immature (7-day-old) Raillietina tetragona in experimentally infected chickens using single oral doses of 10, 7.5, 5, or 2.5 mg/kg body wt. The compound showed potent anticestodal activity, with 100% efficacy at 10, 7.5, and 5 mg/kg against immature worms and an efficacy of 100% 97.1%, and 95% against mature worms when given at 10, 5, and 2.5 mg/kg, respectively. Residual worms surviving drug treatment had less biomass than the controls. Praziquantel appears to be well tolerated by chickens, and treated birds showed no clinical reactions at any of the doses tested.