Rafoxanide is a halogenated salicylanilide trematode, which is mainly used for the treatment of liver fluke and haemophilus in cattle and sheep with remarkable efficacy.
It is widely used in the treatment of schistosomiasis and haematodes in cattle and sheep. At present, it has been used as the drug of choice in many countries such as Europe, Australia, Brazil and South Africa for liver fluke disease in cattle and sheep.
It is widely used in the treatment of liver fluke and blood spear nematode disease of cattle and sheep.
Rafoxanide is active mainly against adult stages of liver flukes in cattle, sheep, goats and horses. It has lower efficacy against
immature flukes may be due to the high protein binding of the drug in the blood. But it has high activity against 6-wk-old flukes
in cattle and sheep, by affecting them either at the time of administration or, more probably, by persisting in blood until the
flukes start to ingest blood and become exposed to higher drug concentrations.
It is also active against gastrointestinal nematodes (Haemonchus, Bunostomum, Oesophagostomum and Gaigeria
species) and against the sheep nasal bot fly (Oestrus ovis).
Rafoxanide is a halogenated salicylanilide. It is an uncoupler of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation resulting in
inhibition of the ATP-synthesis. This induces a dramatic change in the energy metabolism which finally leads to the death of the
parasite. It binds more strongly to blood proteins, and therefore remain in the blood for longer periods.