Trifexis deaths - Page 1

This is not encouraging, especially if you follow out the links.  While both products have been in use separately for years with no significant reports of complications, the two in combined form may not be a good mix.  Another consideration has to be the sourcing of the milbemycin oxime in the product; wondering now where it was being sourced from for Interceptor while it was still on the market?

 

Since the product was launched, more than 50 million doses have been administered to dogs worldwide.  There have been very few deaths and it is unclear if even those are directly attributable to the medication.  I think the hysteria is way overblown.

Keith, I find it of concern that Sentinel Flavor Tabs, the product that replaced Novartis' Interceptor, has not generated any increase in adverse reaction reports, and that as a stand-alone product, the flea control portion of Trifexis, spinosad [sold under the brand Comfortis] has also not been the subject of any significant amount of adverse response complaints. Given that the first dose a dog receives of the combination product of milbemycin oxime and spinosad in the form of Trifexis results in vomiting more often than not, the suggestion that something is amiss with the product since its release here in the US is not hysteria--it is a reasonable concern that needs to be duly investigated. Is Elanco sourcing their milbemycin from the same source as Novartis, or are they each getting the raw product from different places? Has Elanco's source of either product in their compound changed once the product was introduced in the US? Are the ingredients for the US product from the same source as the products marketed in Australia, Europe, Asia, etc.? Those points alone could account for a difference in adverse responses.

 

Thanks for the information, Hexe. I don't use this, but a friend with a lot of dogs does.  I still do it the old fashioned way - oral ivermectin and bio-spot. I have passed the link on to her.

I understand your concern, hexe, but have been using this product for years on multiple dogs with no ill effects.  Any product like this is a numbers game...99.999% of the dogs that use it will be fine; the other .001% will have adverse reactions.  I would like to see definitive necropsy results from the latter group.  Did they already have heartworm infestations or other health issues?
 

I appreciate your posting this, Hexe, and will no longer be using this product.  Yes, it is a "numbers game," but if you are one of a small number to have adverse reactions, all that matters to you is what's happening to you!  My wonderful little sister is suffering with ALS -- all signs point to her getting it from a flu shot .. most folks don't get ALS from flu shots, but that's not much comfort if you are one of the few.       Back in the dinosaur era, when I was growing up, we never worried about or even heard of heartworm, and I never remember, ever, having a dog with fleas.  Our dogs were, however, house pets, they had free access to our fenced in yard, but did not have a "free range" lifestyle.  What has changed?  Not being a smart alec, just wondering . . .   

Not worth the aggravation of trying to post from this stupid phone....cutting off early and then double posting...sorry.

I don't like combos in general, so have never used this product. I have used interceptor without incident in most of my dogs, but I did have one that had a horrible reaction. He had a different package than the others, as he's much smaller, and obviously I didn't repeat the experiment with a different lot, as I barely pulled him through the first time. No more milbemycin for Winston! 

Environmental factors including stressors, diseases, metabolic disruptions, and unusual absorption and translocation patterns are primary ways in which usually safe products can behave in unsafe ways in the real world outside the test lab.  It is up to the products manufacturer to label off or warn users about these unsafe conditions and usage conditions.  Usually the research science people know and point out where the problems or possible problems in the label are and the marketing people want to sell all they can at the highest possible price so the product goes out the door with an over reaching label and DFU that within 6-12 months begins to erode customer confidence and hurts sales and then the marketing folks say why didn't you science people warn us about this label???  Every new product is revolutionary according to the marketing people when it is introduced and within 2-3 years becomes just another "me too" product with strengths and weaknesses like all the others.  It's probably more surprising that more dogs don't get sick or die from such products than the fact that only a few "show" signs of distress or eventually die.