Efficacy of lotilaner (Credelio™), a novel oral isoxazoline against naturally occurring mange mite infestations in dogs caused by Demodex spp.

BACKGROUND: The oral systemic efficacy of lotilaner (Credelio™, Elanco) was evaluated against Demodex spp. in naturally infested dogs with generalized demodicosis. METHODS: In this study, 10 dogs with clinical signs of generalized demodicosis and positive for Demodex spp. mites based on skin scrapings were assigned to a single group orally treated with lotilaner (minimum dose of 20 mg/kg) on Days 0, 28 and 56. RESULTS: For lotilaner-treated dogs, pre-treatment mite counts based on skin scrapings performed at five different sites were reduced by > 99.9% (P < 0.0001) up to 56 days after the first and second monthly doses. No live mites were detected after Day 56 out to and including Day 84 post-treatment for 100% efficacy of each dog’s Demodex mite infestation. Nine of 10 dogs were 100% mite-free from Day 28 (first evaluation) through Day 84 (end of study) and live mites were only found once on one dog (Day 56) following treatment with lotilaner. All dogs in the lotilaner-treated group showed marked improvement in the clinical signs of demodicosis and there were no drug associated adverse events. A marked improvement in hair re-growth was observed in all the dogs from 6 weeks following initiation of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In this study lotilaner administered at a minimum oral dose of 20 mg/kg was highly effective in reducing and eliminating live mite counts in dogs with natural infestations of Demodex spp. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-017-2472-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.