Efficacy of orally administered fluralaner (BravectoTM) or topically applied imidacloprid/moxidectin (Advocate®) against generalized demodicosis in dogs

Background: this laboratory study compared the efficacy of bravecto ™ (fluralaner),formulated as a chewable tablet,with the efficacy of advocate® (imidacloprid/moxidectin),formulated for topical administration,against naturally acquired generalized demodicosis in dogs. methods: sixteen dogs,all diagnosed with generalized demodectic mange,were randomly allocated to two equal groups. bravecto ™ chewable tablets were administered once orally at a minimum dose of 25 mg fluralaner/kg body weight to one group of dogs,while the second group was treated topically on three occasions at 28-day intervals with advocate® at a minimum dose of 10 mg imidacloprid/kg body weight and 2.5 mg moxidectin/kg body weight. mites were counted in skin scrapings and demodectic lesions were evaluated on each dog before treatment and at 28-day intervals thereafter over a 12 week study period. deep skin scrapings (∼4 cm2) were made from the same five sites on each dog at each subsequent examination. results: after single oral administration of bravecto™ chewable tablets,mite numbers in skin scrapings were reduced by 99.8% on day 28 and by 100% on days 56 and 84. mite numbers in the dogs treated topically on three occasions at 28-day intervals with advocate® were reduced by 98.0% on day 28,by 96.5% on day 56 and by 94.7% on day 84. statistically significantly (p∈≤0.05) fewer mites were found on days 56 and 84 on the bravecto ™ treated dogs compared to advocate ® treated dogs. a marked decrease was observed in the occurrence of erythematous patches,crusts,casts and scales in the dogs treated with bravecto ™ and in the occurrence of erythematous patches in the dogs treated with advocate®. with the exception of one dog in each treated group,all dogs exhibited hair regrowth∈≥∈90% at the end of the study in comparison with their hair-coat at study start. conclusions: single oral administration of bravecto ™ chewable tablets is highly effective against generalized demodicosis,with no mites detectable at 56 and 84 days following treatment. in comparison,advocate®,administered three times at 28-day intervals,is also highly effective against generalized demodicosis,but most dogs still harboured mites at all assessment time points. both treatments resulted in a marked reduction of skin lesions and increase of hair re-growth 12 weeks after the initial treatment. © 2015 fourie et al.; licensee biomed central.