# Activyl flea



## Dan Storts (Apr 19, 2011)

*Activyl flea side effects?*

Has anyone which used this product had any issues with side effects? Specifically neurologically in nature. After applying it to my dogs, a 12 year old female, started acting like she was punch drunk within 36 hours. Then there was the addition of gradual blindness and now more paralysis is becoming evident. Now going on 8 days. Eating and drinking are still fine when I can help my poor girl find the bowl. 

Now, all blood work has been fine, except white blood cells were slightly high today. This could be caused by the stress she is under. Vet is very good to me and we shot her entire body both sides and from the bottom. 

Even if you have never used this product any thoughts??


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## Rick S (Mar 6, 2013)

I just tried it for the first time on my 5 month old puppy. I did not see any of the symptoms you described. I'm about 3 weeks out from the dose and have been relatively happy with control. Did you observe any negative affects with your other dogs?


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## Dan Storts (Apr 19, 2011)

No other issues. One of the precautions is on older dogs. Other one is 14 and he is fine.


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## 12mcrebel (Jan 14, 2011)

Haven't seen that, and hope I don't


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## Dan Storts (Apr 19, 2011)

Now the 14 yr old male is showing the same signs and my wife thinks the 8 yr old female is as well. I am not convinced about her. Can you say dog truck and vet tomorrow morning. 

My dogs share the same thing water, which is going to be tested tomorrow because of having a well, Activyl med now 15 dAys into the product. The best thing is the food. Two of my young dogs eat a different food. Thus, it separates this dog food issue if they become problems.


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## Labs R Us (Jun 25, 2010)

I hope all goes well at the vet tomorrow. Keep us posted.


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## JusticeDog (Jul 3, 2003)

Did you check on a dog food recall? Seems like this may be going beyond the flea product. Sorry you are dealing with such a bad mystery.


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## dkm1987 (Jul 6, 2013)

Applied it last month just did a reapplication this AM. No issues at all on any of my 6 dogs and one is 12 years, one 9 years and the rest are 4. Great results though, no fleas after the 2nd day, no flea droppings and I live in SE Texas. But I applied only what the studies to date show is effective and safe. In other words I applied it a rate of .077/ml per Kilo. I have never been one to just apply the whole tube. Did see one flea about a week ago on one of the girls but it was already doing the "last waltz". Hope you find out what the problem is.


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## NateB (Sep 25, 2003)

dkm1987 said:


> Applied it last month just did a reapplication this AM. No issues at all on any of my 6 dogs and one is 12 years, one 9 years and the rest are 4. Great results though, no fleas after the 2nd day, no flea droppings and I live in SE Texas. But I applied only what the studies to date show is effective and safe. In other words I applied it a rate of .077/ml per Kilo. I have never been one to just apply the whole tube. Did see one flea about a week ago on one of the girls but it was already doing the "last waltz". Hope you find out what the problem is.


Where did you get the info about the 0.077ml/kg. dosing done in the studies. Whose studies?


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## dkm1987 (Jul 6, 2013)

NateB said:


> Where did you get the info about the 0.077ml/kg. dosing done in the studies. Whose studies?


Nate see the following for your question, 

WAAVP 23rd International Congress, 21-25 August 2011. 

See EPAR page 4
Dogs : The recommended dose is 15 mg indoxacarb/kg bodyweight, equivalent to 0.077 ml/kg bodyweight.

Go to Activyls Website and click on FAQ then "For Vets" Review their Tech Bulletins
See
US PATENT
*8,475,818* * Guerino , et al.* * July 2, 2013*

Example 1 

Dose Response Study on Canines Against Fleas Using *Indoxacarb* Local Topical Administration Containing Dimethyl Isosorbide and Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether 

A non-blinded prospective longitudinal artificial infestation parasite efficacy pen study was conducted with a fully randomized design (ranking and blocking based on breed and pre-treatment flea count). There were 5 treatment groups of 6 dogs each, and an untreated control group. 

Thirty-three (33) adult dogs (Labrador Retrievers and Jack Russell Terriers) were inducted, clinically examined, weighed, identified and allocated to study pens on Day-7. Each dog was artificially infested with 100 fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) on Day-5 and again on Day-2. On Day-1 flea thumb counts were performed on all dogs and 30 dogs were selected for inclusion. These dogs were randomly allocated to 5 similar groups of 6 animals on the basis of breed and flea counts, and groups were allocated to study pens. On Day 0, Groups B, C, D and E were treated with a local topical administration formulation containing *Indoxacarb* (DPX-K128) dissolved in a mixture of Dimethyl Isosorbide (DMI) and Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether (90% Dimethyl Isosorbide (DMI) and 10% Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether by volume) to form a total concentration of 75, 100, 125 or 150 g/L of *Indoxacarb* (DPX-K128). The starting material to prepare the formulation was a mixture of DPX-K128- and DPX-KN127 (the R-isomer of Formula 1) and contained 70.43% *Indoxacarb* (DPX-K128). Hence for every 1 gram of *Indoxacarb* (DPX-K128) required, 1.42 grams of this mixture was used. The formulation was administered via spot-on application (i.e. applying in liquid form to less than or equal to 10% of the surface area of the animal) to the dorsal midline at the rate of 0.1 mL/1 kg. Group A remained untreated as controls. Group B was dosed at the rate of 7.5 mg/kg; Group C at the rate of 10.0 mg/kg; Group D at the rate of 12.5 mg/kg; and Group E at the rate of 15.0 mg/kg. 

Flea thumb counts were performed at 24 hours. Flea comb counts were performed at 48 hours post-treatment and all dogs then treated with Capstar.RTM. oral tablets (Nitenpyram, Novartis Animal Health) to remove all fleas prior to the next infestation. Animals were re-infested with 100 adult fleas at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days post-treatment. At 24 hours after each infestation, flea comb counts were performed followed by Capstar treatment. 

In the first 48 hours post treatment Group D (12.5 mg/kg) and Group E (15.0 mg/kg) showed 99.0% and 100% reduction of flea infestation at 24 hrs and 100% and 99.4% reduction at 48 hrs respectively. Group B (7.5 mg/kg) and C (10.0 mg/kg) also showed excellent knockdown efficacy, both achieving 97.9% reduction at 24 hrs and 99.4% and 100% respectively at 48 hrs. 

All four groups showed excellent persistent efficacy being at or near 100% reduction (all .gtoreq.99%) from the 48 hour count until 29 days post-treatment. 

Example 2 

Effect of Washing on Persistency 

At completion of the study described in Experiment 1 above, a further washing study was conducted using the six dogs in Group E for a further two weeks. 

During the two-week period, four of the six dogs from Group E were washed twice weekly in a non-insecticidal hydrobath, while the other two dogs from Group E were not washed and acted as controls. On Day 43 post-treatment, the 6 dogs were infested with 100 fleas and then had their ability to retain a flea infestation assessed on Day 44 by a flea comb count. The results are shown in Table 1 below. 

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 Group Average Dog No. Group Flea Count Count 5 Treated Wash 4 3 25 Treated Wash 5 35 Treated Wash 1 38 Treated Wash 2 19 Treated Non-Wash 0 0 44 Treated Non-Wash 0 

These results demonstrated that all the dogs had low flea counts and were still resistant to maintaining a flea infestation, suggesting excellent persistence at 44 days even after 4 thorough shampoo hydrobath washes. 

Example 3 

Efficacy Study on Canines Against Fleas Using 15 mg/kg *Indoxacarb* Local Topical Administration Formulations 

The study was a non-blinded, prospective longitudinal randomized clinical efficacy pen study with groups of 3 dogs each receiving one of 5 treatments; 4 test formulation treatments, and a negative control (no treatment). Animals were ranked on the basis of breed and pre-treatment flea count, then randomly allocated to groups from blocks. Animals were artificially infested and parasite counts performed according to standardized methods. 

Twenty (20) adult dogs (Labrador Retrievers and Jack Russell Terriers) were inducted into the study on Day-6 and each artificially infested with 100 fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) on Day-4. On Day-1, flea counts were performed and 18 dogs selected for inclusion. The dogs were randomly allocated to 6 similar groups of 3 animals on the basis of breed and flea counts, and groups were randomly allocated to study pens. Each dog was again infested with 100 fleas. On Day-1 flea counts were again performed on all dogs. On Day 0, Groups B, C, D and E were treated with one of 4 different 15.0 mg/kg *Indoxacarb* (DPX-KN128) local topical administration formulations as shown in Table 2 below. A 3:1 mixture of DPX-KN128 PX-KN127 on silica was the starting material for the formulations. This material contained 56.2% *Indoxacarb* (DPX-KN128). Hence for every 1 milligram of *Indoxacarb* (DPX-KN128) required, 1.78 milligrams of this mixture was used. The formulations were applied as a spot-on dose from the base of the neck to the shoulders. The vehicle for Groups B, C and D was Dimethyl Isosorbide (DMI) and the vehicle for Group E contained 40 g/L Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone, 47 g/L Ethoxylated Castor Oil, 33 g/L Ethanol and was diluted to volume with 1-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidinone. Group A remained untreated. 

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 2 Dose Rate Dose Volume Group and Formulation (ml/kg) A (control) -- -- B 15.0 mg/kg *Indoxacarb* 1.8 mL/15 kg C 15.0 mg/kg *Indoxacarb* 1.8 mL/15 kg 6.0 mg/kg (S)-Methoprene D 15.0 mg/kg *Indoxacarb* 2.5 mL/15 kg 6.0 mg/kg (S)-Methoprene 47.9 mg/kg Permethrin E 15.0 mg/kg *Indoxacarb* 4.0 mL/15 kg 

Flea counts were performed at 24 and 48 hours post treatment. Flea infestations were repeated at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days post treatment and flea counts were performed at 24 and 48 hours following each infestation. 

Treatment with all formulations resulted in excellent (at or near 100% reduction) flea control for 44 days post-treatment with the exception of Group B, for which excellent control was observed for 37 days post-treatment. These results are presented in Table 3. 


Exemplary Formulations 

Table 4 below provides a listing of certain prepared topical administration formulations. 


Example 5 

Evaluation of the Safety, Appearance and Run-Off Potential of Topical Solutions Containing *Indoxacarb* when Applied on Dogs 

A series of studies were conducted to evaluate the safety, appearance and potential for run-off of various topical solutions of *Indoxacarb* following application on adult beagle dogs. For all experiments set forth in Table 5, male and female dogs weighing between 10 and 20 kg were randomly assigned to each formulation group. A dose volume of 1.5 mL was applied to each dog, which delivered a minimum dose of 15 mg *indoxacarb*/kg body weight. At the time of application, hair at the treatment site was parted and the formulations were applied directly to the skin in a single location between the shoulder blades. The application site and hair coat were then observed closely for spread of the solution, signs of residue and wetness, and to determine if any of the solution ran off the animal following treatment (at 5, 15, 30, 60 and 180 minutes and 24 hours). Skin and hair in proximity to the treatment site were examined for any adverse reactions at 24 hours following treatment. 


So far Dr. Dryden has only published one study on Indoxacarb and it was on cats but you may review it as well since you are a DVM and I am sure you treat cats as well. Search Pubmed and you will see "Efficacy of Indoxacarb applied to cats" Dryden et al.

Hope all that helps and sorry for the delay but I had notifications turned off.


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## eem (Jan 2, 2014)

Don't know if I am posting this twice. My 3 and half month old golden ret is having allergic reaction to something. It started around the time I applied activyl flea and tick. Skin, Eyes, Ears. Anyone hear of something like this happening?


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## Dan Storts (Apr 19, 2011)

Some adverse reactions have shown up on YouTube. You should be able to find them by doing a search for allergic reactions to or adverse effects of Activyl 

When I get a chance will post a video of my dog stumbling around like he had been to a New Years Eve party. This went on for about 2 weeks. He is 14 and back to running behind the 4 wheeler just as before applying the Activyl. The another dog died and 2 others, which were 6 and 7 didn't have as bad of a reaction. All the yabba dabba do tests were done and 2 of the 4 were on different food which is what they tried to blame first. The vet no longer offers the product. 

Dan


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## jmejb (Jan 21, 2014)

yes!!! first treatment she twisted to the side as if her back was thrown out of whack! her head would bob and she would shake, freeze up, lose her balance and sometimes fall over to her back with her legs waving as if she couldn't get back up. she would freeze up \ then walk into a wall as if she couldn't see where she was going. she ate & drank fine. no loss of appetite. blood work was fine. she slowly improved as product wore of. I did not realize these symptoms were from the product. so I applied the next month and the symptoms worsened. as the product wore off at the end of the month,,, I still didn't realize it was this product. The vet & I were stumped as to what the problem was. leaning toward epilepsy. my dog is 12 years old...epilepsy is highly unlikely at this age but she appeared as though she was having seizures with out losing bowls or foam at her mouth etc. It was so sad to watch her go through this. sometimes it was spontaneous, sometimes we could see it going to happen. The third month came to apply this product. I applied it and the same reactions happened with in minutes and they were on going all day. Finally I realized this was a reaction to the flea & tick Activyl. We used to use Frontline and never had a problem. I refuse to put any of these products on my little old girl again!


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## skidster3 (Nov 23, 2014)

Although my dog has never experienced any kind of neurological side effects from this product, I have. I noticed for 2 months in a row of using this product on my dog my arm, from wrist to elbow, would have a tingling sensation almost as if the skin on my arm went to sleep. I realized the second time this happened that it was from hugging my
dog the day after I applied the activyl plus and it must have caused this weird feeling on the skin of my arm. As I was applying it to my dog tonight, I thought I would check any forums on the net talking about neurological issues from activyl and stumbled across this discussion. I'm sorry to hear about your dog and after my own personal experience I am nervous about long term use for my dog's sake as well as my own.


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## .44 magnum (Feb 20, 2014)

Can't say much about what you are using, but I trust_ *Bayer*_ products over all others. 

I'd be shampooing those effected to try to bring the product out of the pores.


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