Trifexis Not Safe - News

[MP_the4pack]

I received this from the head of my local CART.

 

From WSB TV News:
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/owners-blame-700-dog-deaths-trifexis/nb5B4/

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has discovered the number of dog deaths pet owners blame on the popular pet medication Trifexis outnumbers the cases involving the Chinese jerky treats.

Elanco, the company that makes Trifexis, refused repeated requests from Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland to turn over its data.
Strickland filed a Freedom of Information request with the Food and Drug Administration and got the agency's data instead. It showed that since Trifexis hit the market, every 36 hours, a pet owner reported that Trifexis killed their dog.
Trifexis is the most popular flea and heartworm pill of its kind with more than 50 million doses dispensed. Most of the dogs on Trifexis are fine.

Strickland spoke to one of Elanco's top veterinarians at the company headquarters near Indianapolis less than a month ago. It was the first time the company agreed to speak on camera about the issue.
At the time, Dr. Stephen Connell said that Elanco just wanted to make sure the full extent of the story is known. Still, he would not divulge how many complaints of deaths and illness have come into Elanco's response center.

Elanco is required to report those complaints to the FDA. According to FDA records, pet owners have reported 700 dog deaths. That's 120 more than the deaths linked to Chinese chicken jerky treats. Like the treats, Trifexis is suspected, but not the proven cause.

Connell did tell Strickland, "Everything we have on file is within expectations. We remain convinced that the value and benefit of this product still far exceeds the rare risk of these things happening, as unfortunate as they are."

Barrow County resident Chris Smith believes wholeheartedly that Trifexis killed his dog, Kinzie.

"I tell everyone I know who has a dog, don't give them Trifexis," Smith said.

Kinzie was an agility-trained athlete. She died three hours after getting her first dose of Trifexis. A necropsy showed hemorrhaging from several organs. Read her necropsy report here - it's a PDF file: ; http://www.wsbtv.com/documents/2013/nov/26/kinzies-necropsy/

The FDA numbers also showed 259 of the 700 dogs that died were euthanized. That was the case with Hall County resident Beth Timms' dog, Gizmo, earlier this year.

"Her fever had gotten to 106. They had to give her an ice bath. (The vet) said, 'We need to make a decision, nothing we're doing is working,'" Timms said. "We had to let her go. We had to have her put to sleep."

The FDA website still only posts 31 deaths, the number Strickland originally reported. Strickland learned that number only included complaints mailed to the FDA, and not any emailed complaints.Complaints filed on paper include 48 deaths.

A FDA spokesperson told Strickland the agency hasn't updated the numbers, because it is updating systems.

The new numbers also show a huge jump in the cases of dogs reported sick after taking Trifexis.

Forsyth County resident Amy Thornton's dog Ivan is one of them. She gave the pug two doses of Trifexis and didn't have any problems.

Thornton said it was after the third dose that Ivan lost control of his back legs. She took video of it to share with her vet.

"Exactly six hours after I gave it to him, he started acting really weird, lethargic," Thornton said. "I was scared to death. I thought he was dying that night."

The FDA numbers posted online for lethargy is just above 600. The updated number Strickland got from the agency showed it's actually nearly 8,000. The numbers on the web for vomiting is at 2,200. Updated figures revealed it's closer to 30,000.

"We have not been able to identify with all of these reports any specific trends we can link directly to the use of this product," Connell told Strickland last month. "That said, it is an ongoing evaluation that we do and we feel it is our responsibility."

After Strickland's initial report three weeks ago, the Georgia Veterinary Association released a statement saying news reports like this show how important it is for pet owners to talk to their vets and discuss their options.

Every vet Strickland spoke to stressed the importance of heartworm prevention, and urged pet owners not to boycott the drugs altogether.
Watch for updates on this story coming up on Channel 2 Action News beginning at 5.
Read the original WSB-TV investigation on Trifexis

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dog-owners-question-link-between-meds-and-deaths/nbpSg/

[Time4ANap]

Thanks for posting this. Now to figure out what else to use.

[Guest GreytScott]

Well, most of the dogs may be fine, but someone's dog has to die. Ain't gonna be my dogs. Going to find something else.

[Time4ANap]

Just to elaborate a little more:

 

This news report is from November. It is not new, but I don't recall seeing it at that time.. There is very little in the way of new info since the original story came out other than an FDA statement saying the deaths are not related to Trifexis, but are coincidental. There is a huge disconnect between the numbers on the official reports (31 vs 700) based on whether or not the complaint was filed via letter or online.

 

I have always felt that something is a little bit "off" with Rocket on the days he gets Trifexis, but attributed it to stomach upset and figured that the Trifexis was just doing what it is supposed to. I actually asked the vet about changing at one time, but our vet seemed to think it was the best option at the time.While it may be,Ii don't feel it's worth taking the chance given that I think we are seeing some type of side effect on the days we give it.

[JJNg]

<sigh>

 

This has been discussed here before, and all of the reports stem from a single new station that seems to have some kind of agenda. I just love how the Internet causes mass paranoia based on unfounded assumptions with very little to no medical basis. If we were to avoid every product that someone thought had killed or harmed their pet, we wouldn't have any options left. The Internet has allowed these (often unsubstantiated) claims to be broadcast widely, often resulting in a snowball effect leading to even more unsubstantiated claims. I don't discount owner concerns and conclusions, but they often need to be examined closely to see if they make medical sense.

 

Obviously everyone needs to make their own decisions about what products their comfortable with using, but I feel that some common sense needs to be applied. All drugs have the potential for side effects, and individuals may have idiosyncratic reactions. The side effect profile of Trifexis is quite well established, with vomiting, lethargy, and diarrhea being the most common issues. I have yet to see any patients that even needed to be treated for a reaction to Trifexis, as all the signs reported to me by clients have resolved on their own within a couple days. I don't recommend continuing it for the dogs that don't tolerate it well (even if they clear up without treatment!), which is a very small percentage.

 

These news reports talk about all sorts of problems that are most likely not related to Trifexis at all, or *might* be isolated idiosyncratic reactions. This doesn't mean it's an unsafe product. Consider the fact that some people have allergic, and even life-threatening anaphylactic, reactions to Benedryl of all things! Does this mean Benedryl is unsafe and needs to be pulled from the market or avoided by everyone?

 

Here are the previous threads:

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/303361-controversy-over-trifexis-continues/
http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/302933-trifexis-in-the-news/

[GreyTzu]

Thanks Dr. Jen.