Effect of Oral Administration of Zinc Sulphate with Simultaneous Use of Nonspecific Immunostimulation on the Course of Trichophytosis in Beef Cattle

The paper assesses the treatment of cutaneous fungal infection in young beef cattle caused by Trichophyton verrucosum using orally administered zinc sulphate for 28 d at 2 g per animal per day and subcutaneous application of 2.5 mg/kg levamisole administered three times every 7 d. The study was conducted on animals at the age of 110 to 122 d, which were divided into two experimental groups: group I (animals suffering from ringworm with low levels of zinc in serum) and group II (animals suffering from ringworm with normal levels of zinc in serum). The remaining animals (control group) were divided into three subgroups: K (clinically healthy animals, which had normal serum levels of zinc), KI (animals infected with ringworm and showing a reduced level of zinc), and KII (animals suffering from ringworm with normal serum zinc levels). During the study the following parameters were investigated: clinical signs of fungal infection, zinc content in serum, percentage of phagocytic cells, and phagocytic index. The symptoms of the disease were observed only in group II on day 56. In group I, an increase in the percentage of phagocytic cells was observed, as compared to the original values, on days 7, 21, and 56 and a fall in this parameter was noted on days 14 and 28. In group II, there was a decrease on day 14 and an increase in comparison to the original values, followed by a gradual fall till day 56 of the experiment. In group I, phagocytic index remained on a stable level till day 56 and in group II until day 28, and subsequently began to increase gradually. It was found that oral supplementation of zinc sulphate combined with nonspecific immunostimulation may be applied in fighting skin fungal infection in cattle, and that zinc and levamisole may exhibit synergism affecting the evolution of nonspecific immunity.