Therapeutic use of Bacillus thuringiensis in the treatment of psoroptic mange in naturally infested New Zealand rabbits

Vet Parasitol. 2017 Apr 30;238:24-29. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.03.011. Epub 2017 Mar 9. Dunstand-Guzmán E1, Hallal-Calleros C2, Morales-Montor J3, Hernández-Velázquez VM4, Zárate-Ramos JJ5, Hoffman KL6, Peña-Chora G7, Flores-Pérez FI8. Author information 1 Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: dunstand_ipalogy@outlook.com. 2 Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: challalc@gmail.com. 3 Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, 04510, Mexico. Electronic address: jmontor66@biomedicas.unam.mx. 4 Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: vmanuelh@uaem.mx. 5 Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Francisco Villa sn, Col. Ex hacienda el Canadá, 66050, Escobedo, Nuevo León, Mexico. Electronic address: juan.zarater@uanl.mx. 6 Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal (CIRA), Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala-CINVESTAV, Tlaxcala Km. 10.5 Autopista San Martín Texmelucan, Mexico. 7 Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: penacg@uaem.mx. 8 Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: ivan.flores@uaem.mx. Abstract Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacteria known for its bioinsecticidal toxins and it has been proposed as an alternative in the treatment of several parasites that infect domestic animals (helminths, ticks, mites). In this work, we evaluated the clinical efficiency of the Bacillus thuringiensis GP532 strain in the treatment of six rabbits naturally infested with the P. cuniculi mite. GP532 extract (10mg/ml) was applied by aspersion in both pinna, with a second application after seven days, and the therapeutic effect was measured in both qualitative and quantitative manner. GP532 application resulted in a decreased infestation rate, which was observed as early as 3days post-treatment. At day 14, a decrease from 4.66±0.61 to 0.50±0.10 in the left pinna and from 1.66±0.21 to 0.66±0.16 (P<0.05) in the right pinna was observed. This response was comparable to the commercial drug Ivermectin, which induced a decreased infestation rate from 4.00±0.51 to 0.16±0.10 in the left pinna and from 4.66±0.80 to 0.25±0.11 in the right pinna (P<0.05). At day 30 post-treatment, GP532 decreased the total infested area by 76.80±16.06%, whereas Ivermectin resulted in a 97.41±0.99% decrease. Neither treatment produced irritation or macroscopic lesions. Our results show that the B. thuringiensis GP532 strain has a therapeutic potential in the treatment of psoroptic mange in rabbits. KEYWORDS: Bacillus thuringiensis; Biological control; Mange; Mites; Psoroptes cuniculi; Rabbits PMID: 28342673 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.03.011