Barnett S., King S., Kok D., Luempert L.
Novartis Animal Health US, Inc., 3200 Northline Ave., Suite 300, Greensboro NC 27408, United States; ClinVet International (Pty) Ltd., PO Box 11186, Universitas, 9321, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Barnett, S., Novartis Animal Health US, Inc., 3200 Northline Ave., Suite 300, Greensboro NC 27408, United States; King, S., Novartis Animal Health US, Inc., 3200 Northline Ave., Suite 300, Greensboro NC 27408, United States; Kok, D., ClinVet International (Pty) Ltd., PO Box 11186, Universitas, 9321, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Luempert, L., Novartis Animal Health US, Inc., 3200 Northline Ave., Suite 300, Greensboro NC 27408, United States
A pivotal blinded laboratory study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of two novel formulations of flavored combination tablets against Dipylidium caninum in naturally infected dogs. One formulation was a 3-way combination of the active ingredients praziquantel, milbemycin oxime and lufenuron; the other was a 2-way combination of praziquantel and milbemycin oxime, both administered orally. The study also included a negative control group that received Sentinel ® Flavor Tabs® (milbemycin oxime and lufenuron) and a placebo control group that received vehicle placebo tablets. Each treatment or control group consisted of 10 dogs and the study was conducted in two phases. Dogs were housed in individual pens from Day -14 until necropsy on Day 12. The selection of study animals was based on infection with D. caninum as demonstrated by shed proglottids once before and once during the 14-day acclimatization period. Microfilaria tests were conducted on blood samples collected during acclimatization and only heartworm negative dogs were enrolled in the study. Dogs were blocked by weight and randomly assigned to treatment groups. Male and female animals were represented within every treatment group. Dogs in all groups were treated once on Day 0, within approximately 30 minutes of ingesting a full meal, and observed hourly for the first six hours post-treatment, and then again at 8, 10, 12, 18 and 24 hours post-treatment to determine acute tolerance. General health observations were performed daily for the duration of the study. Dogs were euthanized on Day 12 and the intestines were examined for the presence of D. caninum. One dog in the vehicle placebo group was removed from the trial on Day 6 due to ehrlichiosis. Tapeworms were recovered from 18 of 20 control dogs while no tapeworms were found in any of the dogs that received either the 3-way or 2-way combination tablets, which contained praziquantel. Therefore, the efficacy against naturally acquired D. caninum infection was 100% for both the 3-way and the 2-way combination tablets. Clinical abnormalities were confined to self-limiting gastrointestinal signs observed in both treatment and control groups.