Heartworm Preventives
The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round administration of medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent heartworm infection. Currently available preventives are listed below; as new products become available, updates will be posted at heartwormsociety.org. Consult the appropriate manufacturer for minimum age/weight, use during breeding/lactation, or other health requirements for product usage.
Scroll down for feline and ferret preventives.
Preventives for Dogs
| Dirofilaria immitis | Other Parasites Treated in Addition to Heartworm | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug | Trade Name(s) | Tissue Stages (Larvae) | Circulating Microfilariae | Fleas | Ticks | Hookworms | Roundworms | Whipworms | Tapeworms | Ear Mites | Sarcoptic Mange Mites | |
| Oral Administration (monthly tablets and chews) | ||||||||||||
| Ivermectin | HEARTGARD® (Boehringer Ingelheim) | X | ||||||||||
| Ivermectin + pyrantel pamoate | HEARTGARD® Plus (Boehringer Ingelheim), Iverhart Plus® (Virbac), Tri-Heart® Plus (Merck) | X | Xa | Xb | ||||||||
| Ivermectin + pyrantel pamoate + praziquantel | Iverhart Max® (Virbac) | X | Xa | Xb | Xh | |||||||
| Milbemycin oxime | Interceptor® (Elanco) , MilbeGuard® (Ceva) | X | Xc | Xb | Xd | |||||||
| Milbemycin oxime + praziquantel | Interceptor®Plus (Elanco) | X | Xc | Xb | Xd | Xf | ||||||
| Milbemycin oxime + lufenuron | Sentinel® (Merck) | X | Xj | Xc | Xb | Xd | ||||||
| Milbemycin oxime + lufenuron + praziquantel | Sentinel®Spectrum® (Merck) | X | Xk | Xc | Xb | Xd | Xf | |||||
| Milbemycin oxime + spinosad | Trifexis® (Elanco) | X | Xo | Xc | Xb | Xd | ||||||
| Moxidectin + sarolaner + pyrantel pamoate | Simparica®Trio (Zoetis) | X | Xl | Xm | Xn | Xb | ||||||
| Injectable Administration (every 6 or 12 months) | ||||||||||||
| Moxidectin | ProHeart®6 (Zoetis), ProHeart®12 (Zoetis) | X | Xp | |||||||||
| Topical Administration (monthly spot-on) | ||||||||||||
| Moxidectin + imidacloprid | Advantage Multi® (Elanco), IMOXI™ (Vetoquinol USA) PARASEDGETM Multi (Virbac), Midamox™ (Norbrook) | X | X | Xo | Xq | Xr | Xd | Xs | ||||
|
Selamectin |
Revolution® (Zoetis), Paradyne®(Vethical) , Senergy™ (Virbac) , Selarid™ (Norbrook) , Revolt™ (Aurora) | X | X1 | X2 | Xv | Xs | ||||||
Preventives for Cats
| Dirofilaria immitis | Other Parasites Treated in Addition to Heartworm | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug | Trade Name(s) | Tissue Stages (Larvae) | Circulating Microfilariae | Fleas | Ticks | Hookworms | Roundworms | Tapeworms | Ear Mites | |
| Oral Administration (monthly tablets and chews) | ||||||||||
| Ivermectin | HEARTGARD® (Boehringer Ingelheim) | X | Xg | |||||||
| Milbemycin oxime | Interceptor® (Elanco), MilbeGuard (Ceva) | X | Xc | Xe | ||||||
| Topical Administration (monthly spot-on; Bravecto PLUS is every 2 months) | ||||||||||
| Moxidectin + imidacloprid | Advantage Multi® (Elanco), IMOXI™ (Vetoquinol USA) PARASEDGETM Multi (Virbac), Midamox™ (Norbrook) | X | Xo | Xt | Xu | Xv | ||||
| Moxidectin + fluralaner | Bravecto®PLUS (Merck) | X | Xo | Xw | Xt | Xu | ||||
| Eprinomectin + praziquantel | CENTRAGARD® (Boehringer Ingelheim) | X | Xi | Xe | X4 | |||||
| Esafoxolaner + eprinomectin + praziquantel | NexGard COMBO® | X | Xo | X5 | Xg | Xe | X6 | |||
| Selamectin | Revolution®, Paradyne® (Vethical), Revolt™ (Aurora), Senergy™ (Virbac), Selarid™ (Norbrook) | X | X1 | Xi | Xe | Xv | ||||
| Selamectin + sarolaner | Revolution®Plus (Zoetis) | X | X1 | X3 | Xi | Xe | Xv | |||
Preventives for Ferrets
| Dirofilaria immitis | Other Parasites Treated in Addition to Heartworm | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug | Trade Name(s) | Tissue Stages (Larvae) | Circulating Microfilariae | Fleas | Ticks | Hookworms | Roundworms | Tapeworms | Ear Mites |
| Moxidectin + imidacloprid | Advantage Multi® (Elanco) | X | Xo | ||||||
a - Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinaria stenocephala, A. braziliense); b - Ascarids (Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina); c - Adult Ancylostoma caninum; d - Trichuris vulpis; e- Toxocara cati; f - Taenia pisiformis, Echinococcus multilocularis, E. granulosus, Dipylidium caninum; g - Adult & immature hookworms (Ancylostoma tubaeforme, A. braziliense); h - D. caninum, T. pisiformis; i - Adult Ancylostoma tubaeforme; j - Prevents development of flea eggs; does not kill adult fleas; k - Prevention and control of flea populations (Ctenocephalides felis); l - Treatment of flea infestations (C. felis and C. canis); m - Treatment of tick infestations, with immediate & persistent tick killing activity for 5 weeks against Ixodes hexagonus, I. ricinus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus & for 4 weeks against Dermacentor reticulatus; n - A. caninum L4 larvae, immature adults (L5) and adults; U. stenocephala adults; o - Kills adult fleas; prevention & treatment of flea infestations (C. felis); p - Larval and adult A. caninum & U. stenocephala; q - Adult, immature adult, & fourth-stage larvae (L4) of A. caninum and U. stenocephala; r - Adult T. leonina & adult & L4 of T. canis; s - Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis; t - Adult, immature adult, & L4 of A. tubaeforme; u - Adult, immature adult, & L4 of T. cati; v - Otodectes cynotis; w - Control of tick infestations due to I. scapularis, D. variabilis, Haemaphysalis longicornis; x - Adult and L4 A. tubaeforme, adult A. braziliense; y - Adult and L4 T. cati; z - Adult D. caninum, E. multilocularis; 1 - Kills adult fleas & prevents flea eggs from hatching for 1 month; prevention & control of C. felis infestation; 2 - Control of tick infestations due to D. variabilis; 3 - Control of tick infestations due to I. scapularis, A. maculatum, D. variabilis; 4 - Adult D. caninum and E. multilocularis. 5 - Ixodes scapularis & Amblyomma americanum; 6 - Dipylidium caninum.