Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Moxidectin injection prevents Dirofilaria repens infection in dogs
By Genchi, Marco et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2010·DIPAV, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Efficacy of moxidectin microsphere sustained release formulation for the prevention of subcutaneous filarial (Dirofilaria repens) infection in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Beagle dogs was tested to see if an injectable treatment called moxidectin could prevent a type of worm infection known as Dirofilaria repens. Half of the dogs received the moxidectin injection, while the other half got a saline solution. After being exposed to the worms, the dogs treated with moxidectin showed no signs of infection, while the saline-treated dogs had numerous worms. This study found that moxidectin is highly effective in preventing this infection for at least six months, making it a good option for dog owners in areas where this parasite is a concern.
People also search for: dog heartworm prevention · moxidectin for dogs · Dirofilaria repens treatment
Abstract
A study was carried out to assess the efficacy of a moxidectin microsphere sustained release (SR) injectable formulation (Guardian SR Iniettabile, Fort Dodge) for the prevention of Dirofilaria repens infection in experimentally infected dogs. On day 0, 18 Beagle dogs, 9 male dogs and 9 female dogs, weighing 12-16 kg were ranked in ascending order of body weight (b.w.) and blocked into pairs. Within each pair, dogs were allocated to Group 1 or Group 2 at random. On the same day, dogs in Group 1 were injected with 0.05 ml/kg b.w. of saline solution and dogs in Group 2 were injected with moxidectin SR at the label dose 0.17 mg/kg b.w. (0.05 ml/kg b.w.). Six months after moxidectin SR or saline injection, on day 180, each dog in the two groups was challenged with 50 infective larvae of D. repens collected from laboratory-reared, experimentally infected Aedes aegypti. Dogs were humanely euthanized on day 380 of the study, approximately 7 months from D. repens challenge. At necropsy, no worms were found in dogs treated with moxidectin SR (Group 2) while adult worms were found in saline-treated dogs (total 90; 38 males and 52 females; arithmetic mean 10, standard error 0.96, median 9, range 7-15) (Group 1 vs Group 2 P<0.001). In this experimental study, moxidectin SR injectable showed full efficacy (100%) lasting at least 6 months, and is able to prevent subcutaneous D. repens patent infection throughout the entire transmission season in Europe.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20193980/