Efficacy of oral fluralaner for the treatment of Demodex gatoi in two shelter cats

Abstract

Efficacy of oral fluralaner for the treatment of Demodex gatoi in two shelter cats Dear Editor, Demodicosis in cats caused by Demodex gatoi is a contagious skin disorder caused by a short-bodied mite that lives in the superficial keratin layers of the skin. 1-3 Clinical signs may include pruritus, erythema, scaling and alopecia. Intense pruritus may be associated with presumed hypersensitivity to the mite. 1,2 Demodex gatoi can be difficult to detect in skin scrapings due to its small size and translucency, and due to excessive grooming behaviour in affected cats. Faecal flotation can be helpful for identifying the mite. 4 The mite can also be found on asymptomatic cats in contact with an affected cat. 1,2 A therapeutic trial is recommended for suspected cases with negative superficial skin scrapings, before pursuing further diagnostic investigation. 1,2 Previous treatment recommendations for D. gatoi have included weekly dips in 2% lime sulfur for up to six weeks or amitraz (125-250 ppm); these are labour-intensive and require two to three months of treatment. 1,2 Weekly topical treatment with 1% moxidectin and 10% imidacloprid for 8-10 weeks was reported to have good efficacy, but can be cost-prohibitive for multiple-cat households. 3 Fluralaner (Bravectoâ, Merck Animal Health; Madison, NJ, USA) is a long-acting systemic insecticide and acaricide belonging to the isoxazoline class of parasiticides. 5 A case report noted that when D. cati infection was treated once with oral (p.o.) fluralaner at a dose of 28 mg/kg, parasitological cure was achieved in two months with no reported adverse effects. 6 Four cats owned by a shelter organization in Illinois, USA are described here. They included a 2-year-old domestic short hair queen weighing 4.3 kg and her three six-month-old kittens weighing 3.3-4 kg. At the initial examination, only the queen had skin lesions with generalized scaling; there were no skin lesions on the three kittens. Demodex gatoi infection was diagnosed in the queen by faecal flotation and confirmed by a superficial skin scraping.Initial treatment included weekly topical 1% moxidectin and 10% imidacloprid (Advantage Multi, Bayer Animal Health; Mission, KA, USA). After four weeks, Kitten 1 began to show skin lesions, with alopecia of the left and right shoulder areas. Generalized scaling persisted in the queen. Superficial skin scrapings from Kitten 1 and the queen were positive for D. gatoi, and faecal flotation for the queen remained positive for D. gatoi.The shelter organization agreed to change the treatment to 112.5 mg of extra-label fluralaner p.o. per cat (a dose of 26-34 mg/kg). At the one month revisit, superficial skin scrapings of Kitten 1, the two asymptomatic kittens and Source of fundingThis study was self-funded.

Sucessful treatment of feline demodicosis with orally sarolaner Case Report

“…Thus, it can be stated that sarolaner, administered orally, was able to promote parasitological and clinical cure in a single administration. These results are similar to what was previously shown in relation to D. cati (Matricoti & Maina, 2017) and D. gatoi (Duangkaew & Hoffman, 2018), using a single oral dose of fluralaner.…”

“…Isooxazolines are a new class of ectoparasiticides that are gaining more space in feline medicine due to their effectiveness against various ectoparasites. Fluralaner has been shown to be effective against D. cati (Matricoti & Maina, 2017) and D. gatoi (Duangkaew & Hoffman, 2018) in a single oral dose. A combination of selamectin with sarolaner, administered topically (spotting on), was effective in controlling D. gatoi (Walker, 2019).…”

Efficacy of afoxolaner in the flea control in experimentally infested cats

“…Drugs belonging to the isoxazoline group are the newest ectoparasiticides available on the market (BEUGNET et al, 2015). Among them, fluralaner, when given orally off label, has been shown to be effective in the treatment of demodectic mange, as well as infestation with the cat fur mite Lynxacarus radovskyi, in cats, and topical application of the selamectin-sarolaner combination has proven safe and effective for use in cats (HAN et al, 2016;BECSKEI et al, 2017a;DUANGKAEW & HOFFMAN, 2018).…”

<i>Demodex gatoi</i> infestation-associated traumatic alopecia in a Himalayan cat

“…Demodex gatoi infestation-associated traumatic alopecia in a Himalayan cat 1,2) 1, 3) 1, 4) 5) 1) 1) * 1) 2…”

“…Niina Uchida 1,2) , Yuzo Sonoda 1,3) , Azusa Kumakura 1,4) , Izumi Kanai 5) , Akihiro Imai 1) , Masahiko Nagata 1) * 1) Synergy Animal General Hospital, 2) Utsunomiya East Animal Hospital, 3) Animal Hospital Kyoto, 4) Rikoudai Animal Hospital, 5) Umejima Animal Hospital Recived March 23, 2018 and accepted September 13, 2018 1 Demodex gatoi 2 D. gatoi 3…”