EPA Regulates Spot-On Pest Treatment—

Consumer Education And Professional Advice Critical When Treating Pets For Ticks And Fleas

By Nancy K. Crevier

People and pets go together like love and marriage, horse and carriage, or lock and key. For approximately 30,000 years, humans have held the dog near and dear to their hearts, as a helper and as a friend. Cats were probably first domesticated around the year 7,000 BC, when humans began storing grain, to keep the grain-loving mice in check.

Today, approximately 77.5 million dogs make their homes with families in the United States, and 93.6 million cats, according to the 2009-2010 National Pet Owner Survey by the Humane Society of the United States.

As pets make their way into homes, though, other less welcome visitors arrive with them. Pet owners battle fleas and ticks, which carry diseases afflicting both animals and humans, from several months to year around, depending on the region of the country.

Since the mid-1990s, pet owners have been able to combat the blood-sucking pests with the help of spot-on treatments, liquid pesticides dispensed directly onto the pet’s skin that disrupt the life cycle of the flea or tick, thus ending the daily or weekly application of marginally effective flea and tick products available up until that time. Available from veterinarians or over the counter (OTC), spot-on products have become a regular part of many pet owners’ care regime.

But a more than 50 percent spike in pets reported sick after being treated with a spot-on treatment between 2007 and 2008 has led the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate the safety of these popular pet care products. In March of this year, the EPA announced that it is “pursuing a series of actions to increase the safety of spot-on pesticide products for flea and tick control for cats and dogs…. EPA will also develop more stringent testing and evaluation requirements for both existing and new products.”

In coordination with Health Canada where similar incident increase has been noted, and the Food and Drub Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, the EPA utilized a team of veterinarians to determine what, if any, changes should be made to laws concerning spot-on flea and tick products. The results of the report, which includes the caveat that it must be “read with an understanding of the data limitation that the team faced,” was made public in March.

Among those recommendations are further restrictions on the products to include label and/or packaging changes to more narrow pet weight ranges per vial size; improving labels to better differentiate between cat and dog products; improve label clarity; no longer allowing the interchangeable use of inert ingredients in formulations; determine whether additional information is needed to evaluate inert ingredients; and disallow inerts with suspected toxicity.

Case-By-Case Review

The EPA plans to review each application on a case-by-case basis to determine if the new restrictions are applicable to a product. Tightened regulations concerning reporting, premarket clinical trials and postmarket follow-up, and conditional registrations for new products will also be considered.

The majority of the adverse reactions reported affected small dogs, and cats accidentally dosed with dog spot-on products or that came in contact with a dog recently treated with a spot-on product. The reactions ranged from skin irritation at the treatment site to severe seizures, and in some cases, death.

Dr Marcie Fallek, a holistic veterinarian from the Animal Natural Healing Center in Fairfield and New York City, told The Bee in a recent email that she has seen “dozens of animals die from these products and I believe if they don’t kill immediately, they are weakening the body and killing it slowly.”

How an animal is affected, and when, can depend on the strength of the animal, a point also brought up by Kathleen Dudley in an in-depth, cautionary article published eight years ago by Animal Protection of New Mexico. Ms Dudley, a writer and photographer from New Mexico, said Dr Fallek, is the wife of Dr Don Hamilton, whom Dr Fallek considers to be the best homeopathic veterinarian in the country.

The comprehensive article “Are ‘Spot-On’ Flea Killers Safe?” by Ms Dudley contends that despite what commercials may say and what most pet owners believe, topical treatments for fleas and ticks are not safe. “All of the ‘active’ ingredients in these spot-on preparations — imidacloprid, fipronal, permethrin, methoprene, and pyriproxyfen — have been linked to serious health effects in laboratory animals,” wrote Ms Dudley, supporting her assertions with information from EPA reports and the Journal of Pesticide Reform.

The cumulative effects of these pesticides is unknown, and more long-term studies are needed “to understand the chronic effects of the pesticides,” said Ms Dudley. She also disputed claims by spot-on manufacturers that the pesticides are not absorbed systemically into pets, citing warnings that prolonged skin contact should be avoided with all permethrin-containing pesticides.

Pets with liver, kidney, thyroid, adrenal, and other chronic diseases may be of heightened susceptibility to the adverse side effects of spot-on treatments, according to Ms Dudley’s article. “Adult animals and those in the peak of health are less likely to show immediate signs compared to animals that are young, old, or suffering from chronic disease,” she wrote, and suggested that while not as simplistic an answer as spot-on treatments appear to be, nontoxic integrated pest management is a healthier means, for pets and owners, to eradicate insect infestation.

No Easy Answer

While her article is not current, the information is still particularly good, said Dr Fallek.

“There is no easy answer,” agreed Mary Kay and Tom Novak, owners of Your Healthy Pet in Newtown. “More and more people are looking for alternatives to spot-on treatments,” said Mr Novak.

Pet owners need to do research, talk to their veterinarian, and educate themselves on alternative methods of controlling fleas and ticks. His family owns two dogs and two cats, and using only natural external and internal products, they have experienced no flea or tick problems in their household, said Mr Novak.

“It’s a choice. I would never encourage anyone to do anything they’re not comfortable with,” he stressed, but emphasized that he believes that the spot-on products do introduce pesticides into an animal’s bloodstream, perhaps leading to problems down the road. “People like to think that spot-on treatments are an easy solution,” he said.

“It takes work and some dedication with natural products, and that’s what people don’t like,” Mr Novak said. Your Healthy Pet sells a variety of flea and tick treatment products, some for dogs, some for cats, and many safe enough to apply to humans. “A lot of products can be rubbed on the dog, and it’s really just like petting your dog every day,” he said. Neem oil, from an East Indian evergreen, is the active ingredient in several of the organic and natural pet care products designed to combat fleas and ticks.

Other products are food supplements. “To fight off anything, a pet needs a good immune system,” said Mr Novak. “My belief is that the battle is in the diet. A healthy immune system goes a long way. An unhealthy pet can’t fight off pests,” he said.

Keeping pets tick- and flea-free is important to pet health, said Dr Chris Mixon of Newtown Veterinary Center on South Main Street. He encourages the use of spot-on products by Advantage and Frontline to many of his clients. “I think Frontline and Advantage are way safer than getting ticks around here,” said Dr Mixon.

These two products, purchased directly from distributors or manufacturers, are the safest on the market, he believes. Issues with product safety arise, said Dr Mixon, when people purchase spot-on treatments online.

“It can be a counterfeit product that looks like the real item,” he warned. “And do you want something regulated by a foreign country, not knowing the standards?” he asked. The makers of Frontline, he said, will not sell their product over the counter. “These are products that need to stay in control of the veterinarian,” said Dr Mixon, not because they are so toxic, but because every pet is different. “Dosing needs to be done by the recommendation of your veterinarian,” he said.

The spot-on products are designed to be prescribed by weight distribution, but he noted that a tiny, three-pound dog can end up getting twice as much a dose as needed. “Pet owners need to follow the veterinarians advice, and when a product is bought online or over the counter, you are out of the advice loop,” he stressed.

Dr Mixon also cautioned cat owners about purchasing flea treatment products over the counter. “Most contain permethrin, which is highly toxic to cats. They are meant to treat dogs,” he said. If a pet owner fails to read the label closely and applies a permethrin-based product to a cat, the cat may die.

Over the counter labeling for flea and tick treatments needs to be improved, said Dr Mixon. “There should be bright red letters that say ‘This will kill cats,’ so that there is no question about misuse,” he said.

“Get advice from a veterinarian before making a decision on flea and tick treatment,” recommended Dr Mixon. “Every animal should be advised by a veterinarian on an individual basis.”