Comparative Efficacy of Kanamycin, Enrofloxacin, Moxifloxacin and Cefoperazone for the Treatment of Pneumonia in Buffaloes

A study was conducted to evaluate the comparative efficacy of kanamycin, enrofloxacin, moxifloxacin and cefoperazone to treat pneumonia in buffaloes. During study period, a total of 28 buffaloes brought to VCC, LUVAS, Hisar with the history of fever, anorexia, nasal discharge, coughing and dyspnoea. Clinical examination revealed abnormal lung sounds during auscultation. All the buffaloes diagnosed with pneumonia were randomly divided into four equal groups viz. group I, II, III and IV. Animals of group I were treated with kanamycin @ 7.0 mg/kg b.wt., i/m, b.i.d., group II with enrofloxacin @ 5 mg/kg b.wt., i/m, o.d., group III with moxifloxacin @ 5 mg/kg b.wt., i/m, o.d. and group IV with cefoperazone@ 20 mg/kg b.wt., i/m, o.d., along with supportive therapy for 5 days. Clinical recovery was determined on the basis of remittance of clinical signs. The highest and earliest recovery was found in group II animals.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in cattle (Murray et al., 2017). It is one of the most economically important disease of feedlot cattle with an estimated total loss of more than 3 billion dollars per year globally (Watts and Sweeney, 2010). Significant economic losses in this condition are due to decreased weight gains, feed utilization, carcass quality and increased morbidity and mortality, prophylaxis and therapeutic cost (Urban-Chmiel and Grooms, 2012). The disease is characterized by fever, depression, loss of appetite and respiratory character change (Griffin et al., 2010).
It is a multi-factorial disease involving infectious agents, compromised host immune system and environmental factors (Grissett et al., 2015). Environmental stressors predispose cattle to viral and bacterial infection (Taylor et al., 2010). Among etiological agents bacteria are the most important. Most frequently associated bacteria with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) are Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni and Mycoplasma bovis (Griffin et al., 2010;Klima et al., 2014). Therefore, antibiotics play an important role in both therapeutic and control of BRD. Due to drug resistance and cost of antibiotic treatment selection of appropriate antibiotic is important.
A properly designed clinical trial of different antimicrobials is the most effective method to evaluate the efficacy against a particular disease (Jim et al., 1992). Therefore, the aim of present investigation is to compare the efficacy of kanamycin, enrofloxacin, moxifloxacin and cefoperazone in the treatment of pneumonia.

Animals and clinical examination
A total of twenty eight buffaloes were brought to VCC, LUVAS for treatment and were examined thoroughly. It was observed that all the animals exhibiting the clinical signs of inappetance/anorexia, nasal discharge, coughing, dyspnoea and abnormal lung sounds (crackles/wheezes/ pleuritic frictional rubs) on auscultation of thoracic area. Thoracic x-ray of all the animals was taken in lateral recumbency and interpreted.

Collection of blood samples
Five ml of blood was collected aseptically in EDTA coated sterile vials from jugular vein of the affected as well as healthy control group of animals for estimation of Haemoglobin (Hb), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Total Leucocyte Count (TLC) and Differential Leucocyte Count (DLC) as per mothod of Jain (1986).

Culture sensitivity test
Nasal swabs taken from all the animals were subjected to culture and antibiotic sensitivity testing. Antibiotics were selected on the basis of in vitro sensitivity which was performed using the disk diffusion method (Quinn et al., 2004).

Line of treatment
Animals diagnosed with pneumonia were randomly divided in to 4 equal groups (group I, II, III and IV) having seven animals each. Moreover, seven healthy animals not showing respiratory signs were also taken as control. Animals of group I (n=7) were treated with kanamycin @ 7.0 mg/kg body weight i/m twice daily, animals of group II (n=7) were treated with enrofloxacin @ 5 mg/kg body weight i/m once daily, group III (n=7) animals were treated with moxifloxacin @ 5 mg/kg body weight i/m once daily and group IV (n=7) animals were treated with cefoperazone @ 20 mg/kg body weight i/m daily for 5 days. In addition to antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steam inhalation, antioxidants, multivitamins, bronchodilators and appetizers were also given for faster recovery.

Statistical method
The data was analyzed statistically by DMRT using SPSS v20.0. Two-way ANOVA was applied for statistical significance.

Clinical recovery
The comparative antibiotic response and cure rate was determined on the basis of time taken for the remission of clinical signs viz., rectal temperature, respiratory and pulse rate, status of appetite (inappetence/anorexia), nasal discharge, coughing, dyspnoea and auscultation of thoracic area for abnormal lung sounds in all the four treatment groups. Clinical evaluation of all animals were done pre-treatment (day 0) and post treatment (day 5).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
On anamnesis and clinical examination, all the affected animals were having high rectal temperature, elevated respiration rate and pulse rate, anorexia/inappetance, serous to muco-purulent nasal discharge, coughing, dyspnoea and abnormal lung sounds such as crackles, wheezes, pleuritic frictional rub (Table 1 and Table 3). Similar findings were consistently observed by various researchers (Collie, 1992;Griffin et al., 2010;Urban -Chmiel and Grooms, 2012;Love et al., 2014).
No significant difference in mean of vital parameters was found within the row while mean pulse rate of group II, III and IV differs significantly at 0 and 5 th day within the column (Table 1). X ray examination of thoracic area of affected animals revealed pneumonic changes including two types of radiographic pattern namely alveolar in twenty two animals followed by interstitial pattern in six animals.
Results of hematological studies (Table 2) in respiratory disease of buffaloes revealed high PCV, TLC, neutrophils, whereas low lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils; which were coming towards normal range after treatment. In vitro ranking of antibiotic sensitivity towards isolated bacteria included in this study was 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th for enrofloxacin, cefoperazone, moxifloxacin and kanamycin, respectively.
Among four groups, maximum cure rate (85.71%) was observed in group II which can be attributed to higher bioavailability of fluoroquinolones in lung tissue (Scheer and de Jong, 1997;McKellar et al., 1998) and in bronchial secretions (Friis, 1993).

CONCLUSION
Enrofloxacin was found most effective antimicrobial drug as compared to cefoperazone, moxifloxacin and kanamycin in the therapeutic management of clinical respiratory disease in buffaloes.