Objective-To determine pharmacokinetics and tissue concentrations of azithromycin in ball pythons ( Python regius ) after IV or oral administration of a single dose. Animals-2 male and 5 female ball pythons. Procedures-Using a crossover design, each snake was given a single dose of azithromycin (10 mg/kg) IV. After a 4-week washout period, each snake was given a single dose of azithromycin (10 mg/kg) orally. Blood samples were collected prior to dose administration and 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours after azithromycin administration. Azithromycin was quantitated by use of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results-After IV administration, azithromycin had an apparent volume of distribution of 5.69 L/kg and a plasma clearance of 0.19 L/h/kg. Harmonic means for the terminal half-life were 17 hours following IV administration and 51 hours following oral administration. Mean residence times were 37 and 94 hours following IV and oral administration, respectively. Following oral administration, azithromycin had a peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of 1.04 micrograms/mL, a time to Cmax of 8.4 hours, and a prolonged mean absorption time of 57 hours. Mean oral bioavailability was 77%. Tissue concentrations ranged from 4 to 140 times the corresponding plasma concentration at 24 and 72 hours after azithromycin administration. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Azithromycin is well absorbed and tolerated by ball pythons. On the basis of plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue concentration data, we suggest an azithromycin dosage in ball pythons of 10 mg/kg, orally, every 2 to 7 days, depending upon the site of infection and susceptibil ity of the infective organism.

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of 3 diet formulations containing different protein sources (animal, plant, and a combination of animal and plant) on the colonization of Campylobacter jejuni in the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens. A freshly isolated strain of C. jejuni (biotype IV, serotype HS O:21, O:29, HL untypable) from a broiler chicken was used to infect 3-day-old chicks that had been free of C. jejuni; 0.5 mL of an inoculum containing 108 colony-forming units was administered orally. Shedding of the organism was studied, and C. jejuni in the ceca, jejuni, and crop were enumerated by quantitative culture. The isolates recovered from the birds during the study period of 35 d were characterized and confirmed as C. jejuni by the use of standard methods and underwent biotyping, serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion and the E-test, and flagellin gene typing. A cyclical pattern of shedding of C. jejuni was observed in all the birds. Colonization was highest in the ceca. The ceca of birds receiving plant-protein-based feed had significantly less colonization then the ceca of birds receiving the other types of feed, whereas the differences in colonization of the jejuni and crops were not significant. Characterization by biotyping, serotyping, and flagellin gene typing showed that 95% of the recovered isolates were identical to the strain used for infecting the chicks. However, with the Lior-HL typing scheme, 74% of the recovered isolates were HL untypable. Antimicrobial resistance testing did not reveal significant differences between the infecting strain and the recovered isolates among the different feed groups.

Objective-To determine magnitude and duration of the effect of oral administration of methazolamide at 2 dosages on intraocular pressure (IOP) in dogs in single- dose and multiple-dose trials and to determine aqueous humor flow rate (AHFR) by use of anterior segment fluorophotometry before and during treatment. Animals-25 healthy adult Beagles. Procedure-Baseline IOPs and AHFRs were determined on days 0 and 1, respectively. On day 2, the single-dose trial was initiated with oral administration of 25 or 50 mg of methazolamide at 7 AM to 2 groups of 10 dogs each. Five dogs served as controls. In the multiple-dose trial, the same dogs received 25 or 50 mg of methazolamide at 7 AM and at 3 and 11 PM on days 3 through 9. Results-Intraocular pressures varied diurnally with highest IOPs in the morning. In the single-dose trial, IOP decreased significantly at 3 to 6 hours after treatment and then increased significantly at later time points, compared with baseline values. In the multipledose trial, dogs in both treatment groups had significantly lower IOPs during the treatment period at 10 AM and 1 PM but not at 6 and 9 PM, compared with baseline values. In both treatment groups morning IOPs had returned to baseline values by the first day after treatment. Evening IOPs were significantly increased by 2 to 3 days after treatment, compared with baseline values. The AHFRs in both treatment groups were significantly lower than pretreatment AHFRs. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Oral administration of methazolamide decreases IOPs and AHFRs in clinically normal dogs, with effectiveness diminishing in the evening.