A recent media report in Atlanta is questioning the safety of Trifexis. We of course take all reports of adverse reactions seriously and we dig deep to discover if we should be concerned. We have reviewed the claims, talked with toxicologist, and consulted with VIN veterinarians from across the country. At present we have not had any serious reactions to this product nor are we finding our colleagues reporting this either. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully as we too are using the product on our own pets and we watch after your pets with the same desire for only the best and safest products available. We have seen the 5% nausea reported in the product literature and a few patients that did not feel well for a day or two after giving Trifexis. In those patients we switched to other products. There is also a contraindication for epileptics, pregnant dogs, and any concurrent administration of high dose ivermectin products. It also is not tasty and many dogs will not take it willingly. Even with these issues, it is a popular product due to its very effective flea coverage. Trifexis is two products in one. Spinosad (by itself it is Comfortis) for fleas and milbemycin oxime as the heartworm and intestinal worm preventative. We have been using milbemycin in Interceptor and Sentinel for decades with no problems. It is very safe and very effective. If there is a problem with Trifexis, it would have to be the spinosad or the combination. I was very cautious with spinosad (Comfortis) and would not carry it when it was first released. We finally consented to use it after a year and a half on the market. It was so effective on fleas that our customers were demanding it and we were not seeing any reports of problems beyond the known side effects noted. All of the side effects mentioned above are due to the spinosad. Nothing beyond what we reported above has been seen with either Comfortis or Trifexis. The media claim is in regards to three Vizsla puppies that all died from heart muscle inflammation. It is still being investigated, but the pathology report and history is not supportive of a toxic cause. We understand the cause and effect phenomenon and suspicion is warranted as all the pups had received Trifexis. However, that alone does not implicate the drug as the cause. We are certainly not dismissing these concerns for to do so would be foolish. We also do not want to make inappropriate emotional rash decisions on limited evidence. As an example, a similar type alarm resulted in Proheart being pulled from the market some years back. Proheart was a six month injectable heartworm preventative for dogs. Many claims were made against it, so the FDA pulled it from the market. Extensive research on each claim was conducted and none of the claims could ever be substantiated. It has recently come back to market as the 6 month injectable, but what most people dont realize is that moxidectin (the same drug in Proheart) has been in Advantage multi topical now for many years with a very good safety track record. So until we can objectively analyze these claims, we ask for everyone to remain calm and let us see what comes of the investigations. If we find evidence that Trifexis is truly a danger we will let you know. At present we do not yet see substantiated evidence to advise a change. Especially since spinosad, the flea product in Trifexis, is nearly the only product to which fleas have not developed any resistance. Stay tuned.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 01:45:33 +0000
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