Flea Shampoo

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442 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
442
Total Reports
5
Deaths Reported
110.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Flea Shampoo

Administration Routes

TopicalCutaneousUnknownImmersionOral

Species Affected

Dog 358
Cat 83
Human 1

Most Affected Breeds

Chihuahua 50
Domestic Shorthair 36
Crossbred Canine/dog 30
Dog (unknown) 29
Terrier - Yorkshire 22
Retriever - Labrador 20
Shih Tzu 19
Maltese 13
Pit Bull 11
Dachshund (unspecified) 10

Most Reported Reactions

Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea 257
Lack of efficacy (flea) 83
Pruritus 39
Lack of efficacy - NOS 29
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 27
Vomiting 21
Itching 20
Scratching 19
Behavioural disorder NOS 17
Emesis 15
Overdose 11
Vocalisation 10

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
320 (72.4%)
Ongoing
57 (12.9%)
Recovered/Normal
51 (11.5%)
Recovered with Sequela
9 (2.0%)
Died
5 (1.1%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 442
Reports involving death 5
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 110.0%
Distinct species in reports 3
Distinct breeds in reports 20
Distinct reactions reported 20
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Flea Shampoo Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 442 adverse event reports referencing Flea Shampoo, including 5 reports in which the animal died — a 110.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Flea Shampoo. Reported administration routes include Topical, Cutaneous, Unknown, Immersion. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Flea Shampoo reports are Dog (358 reports), Cat (83 reports), Human (1 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Chihuahua (50), Domestic Shorthair (36), Crossbred Canine/dog (30) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Flea Shampoo are Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea (257), Lack of efficacy (flea) (83), Pruritus (39), Lack of efficacy - NOS (29). Of the 442 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 72.4%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Flea Shampoo.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial