Merck Animal Health has been hit with a class action lawsuit by consumers who claim that their dog and cat drug Bravecto contains a pesticide that is harmful to pets.
Bravecto tablets and topical medications are used on both cats and dogs, and are marketed as a way to prevent ticks and fleas for up to three months.
Plaintiff Valerie Palmieri says she paid just under $50 for one Bravecto chewable tablet to treat her 78 pound German Shepherd Jake for fleas and ticks.
After taking the pill, Jake started to vomit, did not eat, and began to show symptoms of lethargy, according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit. The plaintiff reportedly took Jake to the emergency animal clinic after the dog was no longer able to walk.
Palmieri claims that she contacted Merck to talk about Jakeโs possible adverse reaction to taking the drug. The company allegedly denied that that Jakeโs sickness was caused by Bravecto but offered to pay for the emergency room visit.
However, the company would only pay if she signed an agreement which would release any claims against the company, according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff states that she refused to release her claims as she wasnโt sure if Jakeโs symptoms would be long-term and was still not sure if her dogโs symptoms were caused by the drug.
After more tests and a trip to a neurologist, the plaintiffโs veterinarian allegedly told her that he โpresumedโ that Jakeโs diagnosis of meningitis was a result of โBravecto toxicity,โ which was contrary to what she was told by the defendant.
Since he ingested the drug, Jake has continued to have neurological episodes, according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit. In September of this year, he reportedly fell down a flight of stairs and broke his leg. The plaintiff claims that she has spent โtens of thousands of dollarsโ treating Jake after he ingested Bravecto.
Palmieri says that when she purchased the tablet, the packaging and materials enclosed therein did not state that neurological adverse reactions were possible when taking the pill. In addition, the defendant allegedly did not tell veterinarians about the possible safety issues that the drug posed to pets.ย ย
โBecause Defendant failed to disclose the risks of Bravecto to consumers and misrepresented the safety of Bravecto, consumers would be reasonable in purchasing Bravecto to treat their pets in a safe manner,โ the class action lawsuit notes.
The Bravecto class action lawsuit also states that in September 2018, the FDA issued an alert about the possible neurological events that are associated with medicines like Bravecto to treat fleas and ticks.
The FDA has subsequently asked manufacturers to change their labels to โhighlight neurological events because these events were seen consistently across the isoxazoline class of productsโ and โto provide veterinarians and pet owners with the information they need to make treatment decisions for each pet on an individual basis,โ according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff states that the defendant now discloses that there may be some neurological reactions to taking Bravecto, including tremors, ataxia, and seizures.
โEvery consumer who purchased Bravecto without being informed of the true facts about its health and safety risks prior to purchase was injured at the point of sale when, instead of obtaining a safe flea and tick medication, they obtained Defendantโs unreasonably dangerous and defective product,โ the Bravecto class action lawsuit states.
Did you purchase Bravecto for your pet? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Mark A. Dicello, Adam J. Levitt, and Amy E. Keller of DiCello Levitt and Gutzler LLC and Jessica J. Sleater and Ralph N. Sianni of Andersen Sleater Sianni LLC.
The Bravecto Class Action Lawsuit is Valerie Palmieri v. Intervet Inc., et. al, Case No. 2:19-cv-22024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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1,807 thoughts onBravecto Class Action Says Meds Arenโt Safe For Pets
My little yorkie started having seizure episodes a few hours after I gave her Bravecto. They became worse, with her having several spasms an hour. She was never the same dog and I lost her soon after. I got on the โDoes Bravecto Kill Dogsโ facebook website and have continued to spread the word.
After my Golden doodle puppy was prescribed Bravecto, she became lethargic, was throwing up , having tremors and her back legs didnโt work for apprx 12 hoursโฆwe had to carry her outside to go to the bathroom. She was tested at the vet and found to have crystals in her urine but really nothing else. Luckily, with special food and water regimen, and no more Bravecto, she was able to recover but still suffers from muscle tremors and they seem to be getting more pronounced as she agesโฆ..she is 4 now.
My beautiful tuxedo cat is only a year and a half old. I took her to the vet for a wellness check and some flea medicine, I didnโt see many fleas on her but I wanted to prevent it from getting worse and of course stop her itching. The vet recommended this medicine and told me itโs just a topical medicine thatโs good for 3 months. They NEVER mentioned the medicine travels through the petโs bloodstream, all they said was itโs good for 3 months and theyโve had excellent reviews from customers.
The flea medicine was administered Saturday morning, she started drooling as soon as we got in the car so I took her back inside to the vet and they had her in observation and gave her back to me after 10 minutes and said we were good to go. At home, she was very lethargic (which is not normal for her, sheโs normally very energetic) and didnโt eat much. Since we were just at the vet that morning, I took it to mean that she was under high stress from being at the doctor and I just kept an eye on her the rest of the night. Sunday she ate a little more but not her normal amount and I noticed she was scratching at the spot where they put the flea meds. Monday was more scratching and not much eating, and she was not letting me touch her. Then Tuesday I noticed she had vomited in several spots in my house and also outside, the scratching was worse and I noticed chunks of hair had come off from where they applied the medicine โ thatโs when I noticed how red her skin was underneath her fur. I started reading all the horror stories online about Bravecto and I decided to take her to the emergency vet right away.
At the emergency vet, they shaved her to apply saline solution to the affected area. The doctor also gave her a steroid shot for inflammation (which they said would also increase her appetite) and another shot for anti-nausea since she was vomiting. They sent me home with some ointment to put on her back and an antibiotic for the itchiness.
Itโs Wednesday now and sheโs still lethargic but the redness on her back is significantly better. I hope it doesnโt get as bad as some other folks on here. Please pray for my Lola, she didnโt do anything wrong โ she was just being a cat and all she had was a few fleas and I let them put this strong medicine on her and now sheโs hurting. Please please please donโt let them convince you to put this poison on your pet.
My vet recommended Bravecto for my Saint Bernard. I asked about side effects and was told drooling but that it was safe and very effective. My beautiful baby was 4 days away from his 4th birthday when he died. We endured months of seizures, huge vet Billโs, huge medication Billโs. He went from a happy beautiful boy to dead in less than 6 months. My vet says Bravecto doesnt cause seizures, um,wrong. The emergency vet said I could pay for an autopsy which would show that his organs failed due to status epilepticus and hyperthermia. Nothing is ever going to bring my best friend back but no other animal or family should have to suffer as we did
This sounds exactly what has happened to my beloved puppy. I had to put him down on Monday and am devastated. Same scenario- gave him the bravecto recommended by the vet. He was so sick after that I thought he would die. I reported to merk and described some symptoms that they said they didnโt think were related. Soon the non Stop focal seizures started. 9 months of them and sever status epileptics in closing becoming a regular At the emergency vet. He also fell doe. The stairs hurting his legs so badly that we had to Carry him around up and down stairs for weeks. . I couldnโt keep putting him through it. He wasnโt even 2 yet and Iโm so emotional over this. Who can I contact. Is there anything I can do to prevent others from going through this?
This sounds a lot like my dog too โ constant focal seizures and lost ability to walk. He couldnโt eat or drink by himself anymore so we had to put him down and it was the worst day of my life. He was 20 months old.
My dog Kassie was very healthy and had a lovely coat of fur. After I gave her the first dose of Brevecto, she broke out in what appeared to be hard boils. I was not sure what caused it and took her to my vet. She was not overly concerned. After the second dose she really broke out in the
In these unsightly hard boil like eruptions that would sometimes bleed. I stopped using Brevecto but she continued to break out. Recently she had a urinary infection with crystals and bladder stones. She is now diagnosed with Pancreatitis. I have read Brevecto can cause this. There was no warning about this. My dogs case appears to be fatal. I will know in the next two days.
My sisterโs cat gets flea dermatitis really bad so our vet offered Bravecto to get amd keep the fleas off her so she could heal from the dermatitis. We are approaching the date for her to be dosed again and we will not give her another. She was doing okay for the first two months but she has lost a lot of weight and her appetite has decreased. Shes so boney now. We tried to give her food for sensitive tummies (shes always had a sensitive tummy) and shes been vomitting up her kibbles for two days. (even with her normal food.) Shes going to the vet asap, and hopefully sheโll be okay.
In 2016 before traveling to Mexico with my pug, I took him to the vet for the health certificate required for traveling. He was declared healthy during that exam. When we got to Mexico I gave him his first and only dose of Bravecto. Within a day or so he was lethargic and was refusing to walk on our usual morning walks. I didnโt put it together that it was Bravecto for awhile. But eventually he would just sit and didnโt want to even walk a block. He had mini seizures and appeared his back hurt him. I had him checked with the local vet in Mexico and he didnโt know what the problem was, however he failed the neurological tests. (And still does years later.) Eventually he got so his back legs were stilt like and, still to this day, he can no longer control his bowels, and his back legs are still like stilts.
Still havenโt found even one flea on him after all this time.
My sweet 7 year old dog had taken it before with no issues. On the second dose, he died within 5 days of taking it. He started peeing blood, all his organs shut down and is eyes and skin were yellow. The vet did an autopsy and said he was perfectly healthy. Please donโt let other dogs die this way.
We started giving our dog Bravecto in May of 2017. She began having episodes where she would wake up in the middle of the night very confused and disoriented. Her vet could not find anything wrong with her and referred her to a neurologist. She underwent an MRI and spinal tap which were both normal. She was given seizure meds and anxiety meds because no one could come up with a diagnosis. Those medications did not help with what she was experiencing. Since bravecto was the only new medication that was added to her routine, we decided to discontinue it. It took almost a year after discontinuing bravecto before these episodes stopped.
I gsve my dog a second dose of bravecto 2 weeks later, I had to put her down. she was bleeding internally and anemic. We tried every aggressive therapy to keep her with us, she was suffering, Iโm sure it was the bravecto that instigated this deadly response. I wish Iโd never given it to her. Iโm sure she Would be alive today if id just not given her that medication.
We started using Brevecto on one of our corgis the last part of 2018. Not long after we noticed hair loss on his back where the topical had been applied. It wasnโt long before he started having dry eye problems. We doctored it for several months before it had to be removed. Now his other eye has developed the same dry eye condition to the point it is ulcerated and not looking good. He has big patches on his belly and flank where the hair is falling out. Recently I saw a notice where the FDA has issued warnings about using this product as well as the other products that use the same toxic ingredient. Should be taken off the market!!!