Evaluation of the Adulticidal Efficacy of Imidacloprid 10 %/Moxidectin 2.5 % (w/v) Spot-on (Advocate®, Advantage® Multi) against Dirofilaria repens in Experimentally Infected Dogs

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of imidacloprid 10 %/moxidectin 2.5 % (w/v) spot-on (Advocate ® /Advantage ® Multi, Bayer) against adult Dirofilaria repens in a blinded, placebocontrolled randomised laboratory study. Twentyfour Beagle dogs were experimentally infected with approximately 75 infective D. repens larvae each on study day (SD) 0. Treatment was initiated on SD 228 after patency had been confirmed in 21 dogs, using a modified Knott Test. Eleven dogs received monthly treatments with imidacloprid/moxidectin at the minimum therapeutic dose (10 mg/kg imidacloprid and 2.5 mg/kg moxidectin) for six consecutive months and 12 control dogs were treated with a placebo formulation.Approximately one month after the last treatment, all dogs were euthanised and necropsied for the detection of D. repens worms. Eleven control dogs harboured live adult D. repens (range 2-11, geometric mean 5.44). Eight of 11 imidacloprid/moxidectin-treated dogs were free of live worms. The live worm count was reduced by 96.2 % (range 0-1, geometric mean 0.21). The majority of dead worms were encapsulated and degenerated. After the first treatment, Knott Tests were negative in all imidacloprid/moxidectin-treated dogs and this status was maintained in 10 dogs until study end. One dog showed a low microfilariae count (1 and 4/mL) on four occasions but was also negative before necropsy. The treatment was well tolerated by all study animals. It is concluded that six consecutive

The Mitochondrial Genomes of the Zoonotic Canine Filarial Parasites Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens and Candidatus Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) Honkongensis Provide Evidence for Presence of Cryptic Species

“…Adult macrofilaria were collected during necropsy from experimentally infected dogs for a previous study and provided by Roland Schaper [ 45 ]. These animal experiments were conducted in accordance with the German Protection of Animals Act and the European Union directive 2010/63/EU and were approved by the Lower Saxonian State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) in Germany (reference number: 33.2-42502-05-LG-09-15/2012).…”

Current trends in canine dirofilariosis in Austria—do we face a pre-endemic status?

“…Canine subcutaneous dirofilariosis is most commonly an asymptomatic course, but it can also result in a variety of nonspecific dermal alterations (Genchi et al 2010;Petry et al 2015). Possible cutaneous changes are nodules, pruritus, thin and fragile skin and ocular conjunctivitis (Hargis et al 2002;Bourdeau and Roussel 2010;Albanese et al 2013).…”

The prevalence of Dirofilaria repens in cats, healthy dogs and dogs with concurrent babesiosis in an expansion zone in central Europe

“…Therefore, the recognition, treatment and prevention of D. repens invasion in dogs is likely to help also the control of infection in humans [2]. Although there are new measures for the elimination of adult D. repens worms from dogs [18], a key problem is that neither the diagnosis nor the implementation of preventative/ control measures are common in newly established endemic regions in central Europe. Recent studies on the distribution of D. repens in Slovakia and Poland have detected high prevalence (34–60 %) of infection in clinically healthy working dogs [8, 19] and these asymptomatic infections are not usually recognized and treated.…”