Levamisole

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20 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.
20
Total Reports
11
Deaths Reported
5500.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Levamisole

Administration Routes

OralUnknown

Species Affected

Sheep 8
Goat 4
Horse 2
Unknown 2
Cat 2
Human 1
Dog 1

Most Affected Breeds

Sheep (unknown) 6
Unknown 4
Goat (unknown) 2
Domestic Shorthair 2
Crossbred Equine/horse 1
Thoroughbred 1
Nubian 1
Southdown 1
Bulldog - French 1
Crossbred Ovine/sheep 1

Most Reported Reactions

Death 8
Ataxia 4
Overdose 4
Neurological symptoms NOS 3
Neurological signs NOS 2
Staggering 2
Behavioural disorder NOS 2
Twitching 2
Collapse NOS (see also 'Cardio-vascular' and 'Neurological disorders') 2
Vestibular disorder NOS 2
Not eating 2
Not drinking 2

Outcome Breakdown

Died
10 (47.6%)
Outcome Unknown
4 (19.0%)
Recovered/Normal
3 (14.3%)
Ongoing
3 (14.3%)
Euthanized
1 (4.8%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 20
Reports involving death 11
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 5500.0%
Distinct species in reports 7
Distinct breeds in reports 10
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.

Levamisole Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 20 adverse event reports referencing Levamisole, including 11 reports in which the animal died — a 5500.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Levamisole. Reported administration routes include Oral, Unknown. 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 Levamisole reports are Sheep (8 reports), Goat (4 reports), Horse (2 reports), with Sheep accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Sheep (unknown) (6), Unknown (4), Goat (unknown) (2) 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 Levamisole are Death (8), Ataxia (4), Overdose (4), Neurological symptoms NOS (3). Of the 21 reports with a coded outcome, Died is the leading category at 47.6%. 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 Levamisole.

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