The influence of a heavy infection with sensitive and resistant strains of Ostertagia circumcincta and with Trichostrongylus colubriformis on the pharmacokinetics of febantel in lambs

Plasma concentrations of febantel and its major metabolites, fenbendazole, oxfen-dazole and fenbendazole sulphone, were determined after oral administration of 7.5 mg/kg febantel in lambs before and 28 days after infection with 100 000 L3 larvae of a benzimidazole (BZ)- sensitive or BZ-resistant strain of Ostertagia circumcincta or with 75 000 L3 larvae of a BZ- sensitive Trichostrongylus colubriformis strain. The febantel concentrations were always low, and in only a few samples were higher than the limit of detection. A mean decrease in the area under the curve (AUC) for the three metabolites of 10.2%, 16.4% and 4.9% in lambs infected, respectively, with BZ-sensitive O. circumcincta, BZ-resistant O. circumcincta and T. colubriformis was observed. The C_max for all the metabolites was higher in the BZ-sensitive O. circumcincta group than in the naive sheep, while the T_max occurred earlier. The C_max and the T_max values for all the metabolites were lower in the BZ-resistant O. circumcincta group than in their own naive controls. In the T. colubriformis group the Cmax values of the metabolites were lower and the T_max occurred much later.