By Dr. Olaf Hansen
On September 20, 2018, the FDA sent out an alert to pet owners and veterinarians about potential neurological adverse events associated with certain oral flea and tick drugs that are in the isoxazoline class. Tevra Brands currently does not market an oral flea and tick product.
According to the FDA article, “since these products have obtained their respective FDA approvals, data received by the agency as part of its routine post-marketing activities indicates that some animals receiving Bravecto, Nexgard or Simparica have experienced adverse events such as muscle tremors, ataxia, and seizures.”
We want you, our Tevra Brand pet parents, to be informed. We do not want you, or the retail associate, to be confused when it is time to recommend or select a flea and tick solution that is right for your pet. Pet owners need to understand the pros and cons of flea and tick solutions.
Here is what you need to know about oral vs. topical flea and tick solutions.
ORAL TREATMENTS
Oral treatments come as chewable or pills and are ingested by your pet, rather than applied to the body. The medicine is transmitted to adult fleas when they bite your pet. There are different active chemicals used in different flea and tick oral medications. Some last a few days and others that last a month. The most common oral treatment available without a prescription is Nitenpyram. Nitenpyram is a fast-acting insecticide that kills only adult fleas, but does not have a long-term effect. It shouldn’t be used for continuous flea protection. The newer generation oral flea and tick control products cannot be sold OTC without a prescription from your veterinarian or a licensed pharmacist. The most common veterinary brand is NexGuard®*** from Merial, which is of the isoxazoline class mentioned in the FDA alert.
TOPICAL TREATMENTS
Topical and spot on medications are generally applied between the pet’s shoulder blades so the pet can’t lick it off. Most topical treatments last one month. Some topical treatments not only kill fleas and ticks, but they also repel them. The most common active ingredients are Fipronil and Imidacloprid, which are found in the two leading vet brands. Topical flea and tick treatments, unlike oral products, do not work systemically to kill fleas and ticks. In easy terms, that means the product is not absorbed into the blood-stream of the animal, nor does the pest have to bite the pet to die. Topical treatments take about 24 hours to migrate across the body of the pet, therefore it is important to separate them from other pets until the product is dry.
WHAT DR. HANSEN RECOMMENDS:
Tevra Brands currently does not market an oral flea and tick product. The only FDA approved oral active ingredient approved to sell over-the-counter will not kill ticks or mosquitoes and does not have long-lasting flea control. Therefore, I believe the two Tevra Brand flea and tick topical solutions that compare to the two leading vet brands are the best choice when protecting your pet. Tevra Brands topical flea and tick solutions provide a vet quality level of protection at a price the pet parent can afford.
- Vetality® Avantect™ II* is applied externally as a stripe on the back of the dog. Vetality Avantect II works by repelling and killing fleas, ticks and mosquitoes on contact. Bugs do not have to bite nor; do they need to take a blood meal from a pet when using this product. Vetality Avantect II contains the ingredients found in K9 Advantix II from Bayer, but costs less!
- Vetality also offers another vet quality topical solution, Firstect® Plus** for both dogs and cats. Firstect Plus is applied externally as a spot between the shoulder blades of the dog or cat. Firstect Plus contains the same active ingredients as Frontline® Plus and effectively kills both fleas and ticks for 30 days.
Please contact us if you have further questions about the right flea and tick protection for your pet.
About Dr. Olaf Hansen
Dr. Olaf Hansen is a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) from the University located in Hanover Germany with an MBA from Robert Kennedy College in Switzerland. Dr. Hansen is the Vice President of R&D (Research and Development) for Tevra Brands. Previously he was the Global Project Manager for Bayer Animal Health developing parasitic-ides. He is the founder of ConVet, an R&D company focusing on developing IP, intellectual property. Dr. Hansen holds 24 patents and continues to spend time and resources exploring and developing new products for Tevra Brands.
*This product is not manufactured or distributed by Bayer, the maker of K9 Advantix® II for dogs. K9 Advantix® II for Dogs is a registered trademark of Bayer.
** Contains the same active ingredients (fipronil+(S)-methoprene) as Frontline™ Plus
Firstect® Plus** is not manufactured by or distributed by Merial Limited. Frontline® is a registered trademark of Merial Limited.
*** Nexguard is a registered trademark of Merial