Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Water immersion near fluralaner treatment does not reduce tick
By Dongus, Heide et al.·Published in Parasites & vectors·2017·MSD Animal Health, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Water immersion of dogs close to the time of topical fluralaner treatment does not reduce efficacy against a subsequent experimental challenge with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato).
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs was tested to see if bathing them before or after receiving a topical flea and tick treatment (fluralaner, also known as Bravecto) would affect how well the treatment worked. The dogs were either bathed one hour before, twelve hours after, or twenty-four hours after the treatment, and all groups showed very high effectiveness against ticks, with results ranging from 99.3% to 100%. This means that bathing your dog around the time of applying this treatment does not lessen its effectiveness.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Fluralaner is a novel systemic ectoparasiticide for dogs and cats providing immediate and persistent flea- and tick-control after a single topical dose. Prescribing directions recommend waiting 72 h following topical administration before immersing dogs in water. The objective of this study was to determine whether water immersion immediately prior to treatment or earlier than 72 h post-treatment reduced subsequent treatment efficacy. METHODS: Forty (n = 40) dogs were blocked on tick carrying capacity into 5 experimental groups and all but one of the groups (untreated control) were treated topically with fluralaner (Bravecto® Spot-On Solution, Merck Animal Health, Madison, NJ, USA) at the commercial dose. Three of the four remaining groups were immersed in 38-40 °C water for a 5 min bath - either 1 h before treatment; 12 h after treatment; or 24 h after treatment. Seven days after treatment all dogs were challenged with 50 Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato) ticks and after 24 h attached ticks were counted and removed. RESULTS: Efficacies (compared to the untreated control group) were: 99.3% for no water immersion; 99.6% for immersion 1 h before treatment; 99.3% for immersion 12 h after treatment; and, 100% for immersion 24 h after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Water immersion of dogs around the time of topical fluralaner administration did not reduce subsequent systemic acaricidal efficacy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28946900/