E.p.a. To Review Safety Of Pet Flea And Tick Products

[Guest UESBrindle]

FYI- just saw it in the paper this afternoon:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/health/1...html?ref=health

 

E.P.A. to Review Safety of Pet Flea and Tick Products

 

Liquid flea and tick treatments for dogs and cats have been on the market for more than a decade. But following a recent increase in reports of adverse reactions among pets, the Environmental Protection Agency has intensified its scrutiny of the products, warning pet owners that the treatments may have serious, even fatal, side effects.

 

Spot-on flea and tick treatments are applied topically, usually between the animal’s shoulder blades or along the spine. There have been no recalls of the products, and the agency said in May that there is no reason to avoid them.

 

But the E.P.A. is investigating a large number of anecdotal reports involving both cats and dogs who received spot-on treatments and suffered problems like skin irritations, hair loss and tremors, according to agency spokesman Dale Kemery. The initial reports were not verified by veterinarians.

 

The agency now is evaluating all available data on the pesticides, including reports of adverse reactions, the clarity of the directions and label warnings, and the pre-market safety data submitted in support of the products.

 

The E.P.A.’s report on liquid flea and tick treatments is expected by October and will be published on the agency’s Web site, Mr. Kemery said.

 

In the meantime, Mr. Kemery suggested that pet owners read the directions on any veterinary medicine they use. “Don’t use dog products on cats and vice versa,” he added. “If you detect negative reactions, the vet is the first stop.”

 

Most of the spot-on products are intended for dogs only, but there are more than 25 labeled for cats and at least two for use on both cats and ferrets.

 

Cats are particularly sensitive to an insecticide called permethrin, the active ingredient in some spot-on flea and tick treatments. According to a study published online in The Veterinary Journal, cats overdosed with permethrin insecticides can suffer tremors, seizures, excess salivation, vomiting, loss of appetite and death. Steven R. Hansen, a veterinary toxicologist with the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, said there have been cases in which a cat has been poisoned by grooming a dog that had been treated with a permethrin pesticide, but such events, he said, are "extremely rare."

 

Not all pet pesticides contain permethrin. Bob Walker, a spokesman for Bayer, which manufactures Advantage and Advantix flea and tick products, said that the company’s dog medicines contain permethrin but its cat medicines do not.

 

The appearance of counterfeit pesticide products for dogs and cats has further complicated the picture. On April 28, the E.P.A. warned distributors and retailers to stop selling counterfeit products with the brand names Advantage and Frontline, and to recall those already sold.

 

It is unclear why reports of adverse reactions have increased in recent years. Natasha Joseph, a spokeswoman for Mariel, the manufacturer of Frontline flea and tick treatments, suggested that the appearance of new products on the market or improved reporting might help explain the increase.

 

“We reported to the E.P.A. that events for Frontline have been consistently low,” she said. “Frontline is not part of the problem.” Frontline products for both dogs and cats contain a broad-spectrum pesticide called fipronil.

 

A list of more than 200 brand names of registered spot-on repellents was updated on May 15 and appears on the E.P.A. Web site (PDF). Consumers may call the National Pesticide Information Center at (800) 858-7378 to report a problem with the products.

 

The agency has also advised veterinarians to report adverse reactions at the center’s Veterinary Pesticide Adverse Effects reporting portal.

 

Ultimately, the E.P.A. analysis may lead to changes in regulations. “It could be that we’ll require changes in labeling or formulaic changes,” Mr. Kemery said. “And it could go as far as canceling a product.”

 

 

[Guest Energy11]

Cats are particularly sensitive to an insecticide called permethrin, the active ingredient in some spot-on flea and tick treatments

 

I knew about this, and that is why you can't use canine Frontline, etc. on cats. THAT IS a VERY interesting article! Thank you!

[Guest KennelMom]

Well...let's see...

 

Active ingredient in Advantage/Advantix*: Imidacloprid (9.1%)

Active ingredient in Bayer Tree and Shrub Insect Control Concentrate: Imidacloprid (1.47%)

 

Of course, the chemicla marketed for dogs is a lot more expensive than the chemical they market for our yards......cha-ching for the company.

 

Will be interesting to see the final report....

 

*Advantix also contains a second active ingredient: permethrin

Edited June 17, 2009 by KennelMom

[ahicks51]

Well...let's see...

 

Active ingredient in Advantage/Advantix*: Imidacloprid (9.1%)

Active ingredient in Bayer Tree and Shrub Insect Control Concentrate: Imidacloprid (1.47%)

 

Of course, the chemicla marketed for dogs is a lot more expensive than the chemical they market for our yards......cha-ching for the company.

 

Yeah- they have to make up some $$ in the licensing for veterinary use; it costs a fair bit more than to pass it by the EPA for pesticidal use, under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Then there's purification; the stuff for veterinary use has to be a lot "cleaner" than the stuff used on your shrubs. Then there's supposedly "inactive" ingredients; the compounds you add to your shrub may not be consistent with adding to your pet. And so on.

 

Most of it is what the market will bear. That's where all products start: how much are existing products, and how much can we sell this compound for in the veterinary realm? Send the formulators into a room as a steel cage deathmatch, and the guy who comes out with the recipe that makes all parties happy wins.

 

Everyone else, of course, is summarily executed.

[Guest Energy11]

I had an altercation with the Bayer rep, I think it was Bayer anyway, ... once during one of her presentations at the vet in Florida I worked for. I told her I heard Advantix as NOT good for greyhounds, and I had heard of bad skin and other reactions ... SHE said THE wrong thing to me ... "well, you know, all these products were tested on Greyhounds ... "

 

NOT the right thing to say to me! I just left the room, ...

[inugrey]

Thanks for posting this I think it's time to get this in my rss feed.

 

Frontline does not contain permethrin, which is the dangerous ingredient for cats and sometimes greyhounds. Not that I'd use canine on cats just clarifying.

[Guest myIrishlass]

I've just found a flea on my girl--the first time ever since we recently moved from Tucson to North Carolina. I have a supply of Frontline that I acquired from my previous job, and I am reluctant to use it considering how sensitive greys are as well as the fact that her immune system may be compromised by her Cushings treatment.

[GreyKarma]

This will be an interesting study and it is about time the EPA got involved. I was in the Vet industry for almost 20yrs and saw these products evolve. Advantage was the first we had and was god send for many pets. These products were sold to Vets only in the beginning for a good reason, Vets usually report adverse events.

 

I have complete faith in Advantage and Frontline Plus but nothing else. Most reactions we saw and yes sometimes fatal were from the over-the-counter brands sold in grocery and pet stores. Counterfit goods are very scary.

 

We did not carry Advantix because too many clients had cats and dogs and cats are not to be exposed to it.

 

The article brought up the most important advice that owners read the label, a lot of reactions were because of owner miss-use. When Advantage first came out we actually had a client give it orally not on the skin.....yes the pet survived.

 

 

[Guest KennelMom]

Well...let's see...

 

Active ingredient in Advantage/Advantix*: Imidacloprid (9.1%)

Active ingredient in Bayer Tree and Shrub Insect Control Concentrate: Imidacloprid (1.47%)

 

Of course, the chemicla marketed for dogs is a lot more expensive than the chemical they market for our yards......cha-ching for the company.

 

Yeah- they have to make up some $$ in the licensing for veterinary use; it costs a fair bit more than to pass it by the EPA for pesticidal use, under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Then there's purification; the stuff for veterinary use has to be a lot "cleaner" than the stuff used on your shrubs. Then there's supposedly "inactive" ingredients; the compounds you add to your shrub may not be consistent with adding to your pet. And so on.

 

Most of it is what the market will bear. That's where all products start: how much are existing products, and how much can we sell this compound for in the veterinary realm? Send the formulators into a room as a steel cage deathmatch, and the guy who comes out with the recipe that makes all parties happy wins.

 

Everyone else, of course, is summarily executed.

 

 

I always look forward to your posts!

 

I understand why the "pet" versions are more expensive and I'm all in favor of private enterprise making a profit. I'd heard about the tree and shrub bit years ago on Global Greyhounds but forgot all about it until I was recently at a racing kennel and saw it there. Oy...who knows what those inactive ingredients are. I'm not brave enough to use it on my pets. I guess it'd never occured to me that the two products would have the same active ingredient...just found it interesting.

[ahicks51]

I understand why the "pet" versions are more expensive and I'm all in favor of private enterprise making a profit. I'd heard about the tree and shrub bit years ago on Global Greyhounds but forgot all about it until I was recently at a racing kennel and saw it there. Oy...who knows what those inactive ingredients are. I'm not brave enough to use it on my pets. I guess it'd never occured to me that the two products would have the same active ingredient...just found it interesting.

 

They had a trainer dipping greys in Malathion in Florida a couple of years back. It probably still goes on in Tucson at the track there. Yes, the stuff is good at knocking down pests 'round the ol' kennel, but not as a dunk, please. Gah.

 

Imidacloprid is a wonderful compound. It works on one of the nerve conduction systems found in insects- not in mammals (unless I'm missing a BIG chunk of physiology). We used to use it to control whitefly in an experimental greenhouse; the formulation known as Marathon is systemic, so it can NOT be used on vegetables for consumption. So, we'd "bait" several plants that were never to be used for consumption with the stuff, and because whitefly are transient, they'd get killed when they visited the poisoned plants. We could then use the fruits of the non-poisoned plants for experimental purposes.

 

Arizona: The Whitefly State.

[MaryJane]

I'm not sure what to make of the statement ......

 

"The appearance of counterfeit pesticide products for dogs and cats has further complicated the picture. On April 28, the E.P.A. warned distributors and retailers to stop selling counterfeit products with the brand names Advantage and Frontline, and to recall those already sold."