Efficacy of danofloxacin 18% injectable solution in the treatment of Escherichia coli diarrhoea in young calves in Europe

The efficacy of danofloxacin 18% against naturally occurring Escherichia coli diarrhoea was investigated in calves at seven European sites. Treatment commenced on day 0, with either a single subcutaneous injection of danofloxacin 18% (n = 267) at 6 mg/kg repeated on day 2 if required, or reference product containing baquiloprim/sulphadimidine (n = 37) or gentamicin (n = 98) administered as recommended. E. coli was isolated from 90% to 100% of calves pre-treatment, and the prevalence of serotypes K99 and F41 was 8-46% and 46-92%, respectively. In both treatments, the majority of calves (93.2-93.9%) showed clinical improvement and completed the studies. There were significant reductions for both treatments, in severity of clinical signs on days 4 and 10 compared to day 0 (P < 0.0001), and between days 4 and 10 (P < 0.05), but no significant differences between treatments (P > 0.05). Danofloxacin 18% was clinically safe, and as effective as the reference products in the treatment of E. coli diarrhoea in calves. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.