Canine
Update (June 21, 2026): Oral Afoxolaner-Moxidectin-Pyrantel Eliminated Sarcoptes scabiei in a Field Trial
TL;DR
A 2026 blinded, randomized, negative-controlled field study confirmed that an oral afoxolaner-moxidectin-pyrantel combination eliminated Sarcoptes scabiei in naturally infested dogs, with 97% mite reduction after the first treatment and 100% after the second.
What just dropped
- Antoine and colleagues (2026, Parasite, https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41568903) reported a blinded, randomized, single-centre, negative-controlled efficacy study of an oral afoxolaner, moxidectin and pyrantel pamoate combination in 20 dogs naturally infested with Sarcoptes scabiei.
- Treated dogs received the label dose on Day 0 and again on Day 26/28. Mite infestations were reduced by 97% after the first treatment and eliminated (100%) after the second treatment (p < 0.0005).
- All dogs in the untreated control group remained infested throughout the study.
- By Day 56, treated dogs had no pruritus, papules or crusts and showed clear evidence of hair regrowth.
Context
Canine sarcoptic mange is highly contagious, intensely pruritic and carries zoonotic potential, so confirming efficacy of oral combination products in naturally infested (rather than experimentally induced) dogs is clinically useful. This adds field evidence for an afoxolaner-based combination, consistent with a critically appraised topic concluding that afoxolaner, fluralaner and sarolaner — and macrocyclic lactones such as moxidectin and milbemycin oxime — can all achieve parasitological and clinical cure of canine scabies (https://europepmc.org/article/MED/37798627). A negative-controlled design strengthens attribution of cure to the treatment.
What this changes in Fluralaner (Bravecto) for Canine Generalized Demodicosis
The fluralaner evergreen anchors the isoxazoline-for-mites discussion. This study broadens the class evidence to an afoxolaner-moxidectin-pyrantel combination for sarcoptic mange under field conditions, reinforcing that several isoxazoline-containing products achieve cure while the comparative ranking between them is still being defined.
References
- Antoine L, Papadopoulos E, Sioutas G, Tan DY, Madder M, Tielemans E. 2026. Field efficacy assessment of a combination of afoxolaner, moxidectin and pyrantel pamoate to treat dogs naturally infested with Sarcoptes scabiei. Parasite 33:2. https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41568903
- Dumitrache MO, Cadiergues MC. 2023. The most effective systemic treatment in dogs with sarcoptic mange: a critically appraised topic. BMC Vet Res 19(1):189. https://europepmc.org/article/MED/37798627 [via]
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Related reads
References
- Antoine L, et al. Field efficacy assessment of a combination of afoxolaner, moxidectin and pyrantel pamoate to treat dogs naturally infested with Sarcoptes scabiei. Parasite (2026)
- Dumitrache MO, Cadiergues MC. The most effective systemic treatment in dogs with sarcoptic mange: a critically appraised topic. BMC Vet Res [via] (2023)
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