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. 2025 Aug 4;18(1):331.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06950-5.

Efficacy of Revolution®Plus in cats for the prevention of Dipylidium caninum transmission by infected Ctenocephalides felis

Lindsay Weaver  1 , Alta Viljoen  2 , Riaan Maree  3 , Lina D'Hanis  4 , Shelby Jones  1 , Jane Tonso  4 , Reinier Zweiger  5 , Julian Liebenberg  2 , Vickie L King  1 , Keith Baker  1 , Jessica Rodriguez  1 , Chris Adolph  6 , Thomas Geurden  7
Affiliations

Efficacy of Revolution®Plus in cats for the prevention of Dipylidium caninum transmission by infected Ctenocephalides felis

Lindsay Weaver et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Revolution® Plus is a topical combination drug product containing selamectin and sarolaner that has been proven effective against the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis, the intermediate host of the cestode Dipylidium caninum. Here, we report two studies evaluating the efficacy of a single administration of Revolution Plus in preventing D. caninum infection in cats for 1 month through killing of the flea intermediate host.

Methods: Two studies (study 1 and 2) with the same design were conducted. In both studies, 2 treatment groups of ten cats each were enrolled. On Day 0, the cats in group 1 were treated with a placebo, and the cats in group 2 were treated with Revolution Plus at the minimum recommended dose of 6.0 mg/kg selamectin and 1.0 mg/kg sarolaner. After treatment on Day 0, as well as on Days 7, 14, 21, and 30, the cats in both treatment groups were infested with 100 (± 5) unfed, D. caninum-infected fleas. Live flea counts were conducted on Day 33 (72 ± 2 h after Day 30 infestation). All cats were euthanized on Day 58, and necropsies were performed to enumerate D. caninum scolices in the gastrointestinal tract.

Results: In both study 1 and 2, all placebo-treated cats were infested with two or more D. caninum scolices at necropsy. Significantly lower mean flea counts were recorded for the Revolution Plus-treated cats compared with placebo-treated cats (P ≤ 0.0001), and efficacy based on least squares mean flea counts on Day 33 was 100% (in study 1) and 94.3% (in study 2). Scolex counts were also significantly decreased in Revolution Plus-treated cats compared with placebo-treated cats, with a 97.1% efficacy in study 1 and a 99.3% efficacy in study 2.

Conclusions: One topical administration of Revolution Plus at the minimum dosage of 6.0 mg/kg selamectin and 1.0 mg/kg sarolaner provided high efficacy in the prevention of D. caninum infection through the killing of its vector, C. felis, for an entire month.

Keywords: Ctenocephalides felis; Dipylidium caninum; Cat; Cestode; Flea; Revolution® plus; Sarolaner; Selamectin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The protocol was reviewed and approved by the Study Site Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee prior to implementation. The ethical committee did not issue a number for their approval of the protocol. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: This study was funded by Zoetis. L.W., L.D., S.J., J.T., V.L.K., K.B., J.R., C.A., and T.G. are current employees of Zoetis. R.Z. was an independent monitor contracted for study 1. A.V. and R.M. were investigators, and J.L. was a clinical expert, all employed by ClinVet at the time of the study. All authors assisted with the design and conduct of the study, interpretation of the data and preparation of the manuscript. There were no conflicts of interest that could have influenced the conduct and reporting of this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study design used in study 1 and 2
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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