Effectiveness of sarolaner in the clinical management of furuncular myiasis in dogs naturally infested with Dermatobia hominis (Diptera: Cuterebridae)

Abstract

Background The human botfly, Dermatobia hominis, is a common cause of furuncular myiasis in dogs in Latin America. Lesions can be single or multiple, each harboring an individual larva, presented as an erythematous nodule that causes pruritus and pain. Typical treatment consists of sedation for removal of larvae by surgical incision or manual pressure. Medications to kill the larva before its extraction can reduce inflammation and discomfort and provide a less traumatic larval removal. Isoxazolines are broad-spectrum ectoparasiticides with larvicidal activity previously reported in the treatment of screwworm myiasis in companion animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sarolaner as part of the clinical management of furuncular myiasis in dogs caused by D. hominis larvae. Methods Ten short-haired mixed breed dogs naturally infested with D. hominis were enrolled. Clinical diagnosis was achieved by observation of skin nodules and visualization of larval motility through the lesion orifice. Sarolaner was administered at manufacturer recommended dose for fleas and ticks. Lesions were reexamined 24 h post-treatment and assessed for viability of larvae. Larvae were removed by digital compression and identified as D. hominis. Results Seventy-five D. hominis larvae were retrieved from ten dogs. No live larvae were observed, demonstrating 100% larvicidal efficacy of sarolaner. Skin lesions were healed 30 days post-treatment and new lesions were not observed. Conclusions Sarolaner seems to be effective as larvicidal treatment for dogs with furuncular myiasis, reducing discomfort caused by the presence of the larva in the skin and facilitating its safe removal. Graphical abstract

Effectiveness of lotilaner on furuncular myiasis in dogs naturally infested with Dermatobia hominis (Diptera: Cuterebridae)

“…The larvae were removed after 6 h to ensure that they were dead or with little motility, avoiding data misinterpretation. The ease of removal was also noted, which was noticed even in live larvae, in addition to less discomfort to the animals, as observed in another study [10]. Hence, this study believes that if the assessment was carried out within 24 h, a methodology similar to the other studies [10], e cacy would be similar.…”

“…Recently, publications guided companion animals' mechanical control, which causes intense discomfort, sometimes requiring sedation in heavily infested animals [6-9], although several curative and preventive protocols are available for large animal treatment. It is possible to mention chemical products and medications that act in larvae and larval control elimination, such as macrocyclic lactones [8], benzolueiras [9], organophosphates [5], and isoxazolines [10,11].…”

“…This molecule has the fastest peak of action, and its bioavailability is related to the fact that it is administered after feeding [12][13][14][15]. Some current studies have used isoxazolines for myiasis treatment with excellent results [16,17,10,11]. Sarolaner and topic uralaner demonstrated 100% effectiveness against D. hominis [10,11].…”

Effectiveness of Lotilaner on Furuncular Myiasis in Dogs Naturally Infested with Dermatobia Hominis (Diptera: Cuterebridae)

“…When compared with a study that also used lotilaner in cats against C. bezziana and two other reports, one that used sarolaner in dogs and another topic uralaner in cats, we had lower e cacy. This is probably due to the methodology used since it was veri ed after only 6 h, which is different from the other three reports that were evaluated in a period ranging from 24 to 48 h after drug administration [16,10,11].…”

Furuncular myiasis caused by Dermatobia hominis in a domestic cat case report

“…However, more recent studies have considered pharmacological treatment with the use of antiparasitic formulations also to be effective. The use of fluralaner for the expulsion of larvae in domestic cats ( Campos et al, 2021 ) and the use of sarolaner on dogs have been reported ( Andriotti et al, 2021 ).…”