Antifungal activity of enilconazole on experimental Aspergillosis in chickens.

Enilconazole or imazalil (nonproprietary names for veterinary and phytopharmaceutical use, respectively; Janssen Pharmaceutica, Beerse, Belgium) (R 23979) is a 3-substituted 1-phenethyl-imidazole (7). It is highly active in vitro and in vivo against various dermatophytes and Aspergillusfumigatus under experimental and natural conditions (3,4,5,12,13,15). It is widely applied in the treatment of plant diseases (1,8,10,16) and also has antimycotic activity in its vapor phase (17). Enilconazole vaporization has successfully eliminated spores of Aspergillus and other pathogenic and saprophytic fungi from chicken hatcheries and animal rooms (4,5). The most pathogenic fungus for chickens during the first days of life is A. fumigatus, which is a ubiquitous opportunistic saprophyte, pathogenic in predisposed man and animals (2,9,14). This paper reports the artificial infection of chickens with A. fumigatus by airborne spores and the results of fumigation with enilconazole (smoke pellets).