Absolutely not, says our author, despite what the commercials say.
Tempting as it may be to simplistically
consider fleas as horrible insects, the
bane of dogs everywhere, poisoning
your dog in a vain attempt to wipe
fleas out of existence doesn't really
make sense. Even though more than half a
billion dollars annually are spent on products
that kill fleas in that vain pursuit.
Of course fleas can make dogs (and
everyone else in the household) perfectly
miserable. But it's not as if using toxic fleakilling
chemicals is the only way to control
fleas. When we attempt to get rid of our
dogs' fleas by utilizing chemicals that are
toxic to the brain and nervous system, that
may disrupt hormone (endocrine) systems,
and that cause cancer, it's sort of like burning
the house down to get rid of ants - effective,
sure, but what are you left with?
In the next issue of WDJ, we will
describe effective, nontoxic methods of flea
control. No dogs (or any other members of
the household) will get sick from these
methods, and no dogs (or any other members
of the household) will die from them. In
contrast, dogs do get sick and die from the
toxic chemicals we will describe in this
article.
New products not safer
All pesticides pose some degree of health
risk to humans and animals. Despite advertising
claims to the contrary, both over-thecounter
and veterinarian-prescribed fleakilling
topical treatments are pesticides that
enter our dogs' internal organs (livers, kidneys),
move into their intestinal tracts, and
are eventually eliminated in their feces and
urine. Not only that, but the humans and
other household animals who closely interact
with dogs who have been treated with
these chemicals can be affected by the toxins.
What happens to the health of all exposed
individuals during this systemic absorption
and filtration process varies from
animal to animal, but the laboratory and field
trial results clearly indicate toxicity on the
chronic and acute levels.
Until recently, foggers, flea collars,
exposed. We cannot make informed individual
decisions on the acceptability of those
exposures, a basic element in the maintenance
and protection of our own health."
Spitzer adds, "The requirements for marketing
a new product fall considerably short of
providing safety for our animal and human
families."
Active and inert ingredients
To fully understand the risks associated with
any of these products, it is important to understand
the various components in a flea
product, or any chemical product that you
may buy, for that matter.
Like other chemical products, all flea
products are made up of "active" and "inert"
ingredients; strangely, the actual definitions
of those phrases are very different from what
they seem to connote. In the case of fleakilling
chemicals, the "active" ingredient
does, in fact, target and kill fleas - but some
of the "inert" ingredients are poisons, too.
While the word "inert" suggests benign
activity and even connotes safety in the
minds of many consumers, legally, it simply
means added substances that are not the
registered "active" ingredient. This is
important because most people assume that
only the "active" ingredient in a chemical
powders, sprays, shampoos, and dips
containing organophosphates (chlorpyrifos,
malathion, diazinon), pyrethrins, synthetic
pyrethroids, and carbamates, were the
cutting-edge solutions to our flea problems.
They were effective, but unfortunately, they
also caused disease and sometimes death.
Given enough time, most pesticides
eventually cause enough human and animal
injuries that they are identified as hazards
and are removed from the market.
While the newest flea products - socalled
"spot-on" liquids that are applied
monthly to a dog's skin - are being marketed
aggressively by the manufacturers and
veterinarians and represented as safe
alternatives to their predecessors, the fact
is, they are simply newer. All the "active"
ingredients in these spot-on preparations -
imidacloprid, fipronil, permethrin,
methoprene, and pyriproxyfen - have been
linked to serious health effects in laboratory
animals (see chart, page 20).
"The public must recognize that any decision
to use a pesticide, or to otherwise be
exposed to pesticides, is a decision made in
ignorance," says Eliot Spitzer, Attorney
General of the New York Environmental
Protection Bureau. "We do not know the
identity of the chemicals to which we are
"Spot-on" flea-killers are
effective, but the long-term
effects of their constant use is
unknown. In effect, our dogs
are test subjects that will
determine their safety.
CONSUMER ALERT
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Publications, Inc. THE WHOLE DOG JOURNAL | 19
product is of concern. Many people feel
comforted by the idea that a product contains
only a minuscule amount of an "active"
ingredient and up to 99.9 percent "inert"
ingredients - a typical formula in many
pesticide products. Actually, this makeup
should frighten consumers.
Why? Because the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA, the government
agency that oversees the pesticide industry)
requires a higher (if not high enough) standard
of scrutiny for "active" ingredients;
these must undergo a battery of tests to determine
their toxicological profiles, be registered
with the EPA, and be listed on the
product inserts and packaging. In contrast,
"inert" ingredients need not be listed on the
product inserts and packaging and are subject
to much less testing than the "active"
ingredients; "inerts" are generally tested in
short-term studies for acute toxicity only.
The word "inert" implies chemicals that
are somehow inactive. In actuality, many
"inert" ingredients used in pesticides are
as toxic, or more toxic, than the registered
"active" ingredients. For example, naphthalene,
one of the "inerts" in an imidacloprid
product, showed clear evidence of cancer
activity through inhalation (nasal cancers),
as well as anemia, liver damage, cataracts,
and skin allergies. An unidentified "inert"
ingredient in the flea product Advantage was
implicated in the death of kittens who received
doses within laboratory tolerances.
Why don't pesticide manufacturers have
to disclose all the ingredients in their products?
This kettle began brewing in 1949,
when the U.S. Congress passed the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA), allowing manufacturers confidentiality
on issues they claimed would otherwise
make them vulnerable to market competition.
"Inert" ingredients, in other words,
became protected by industry as "trade secrets."
While protecting industry, this act
supersedes the public's right to know to what
we are being exposed and the health hazards
resulting from these exposures. And
without full disclosure, we are unable to
make educated decisions as to which chemicals
we want to avoid.
Laboratory studies
Obviously, products undergo testing in order
to qualify for EPA registration, and presumably,
most of the overt dangers a product
can exert are ameliorated before the
product can be marketed. Scientists use
healthy, adult, genetically identical mammals
to test pesticides, and then extrapolate
health information regarding the safety of
the product to domestic animals and human
beings. In the case of flea products, the laboratory
tests are performed on live mice, rats,
cats, and dogs.
These toxicological (poison) studies are
performed to establish the LD 50 - the oral
dose at which the product would kill 50 percent
of a test population - and to determine
the acute and chronic effects. Throughout
and following the test, subjects are killed in
order to study the specific system damage
(lungs, kidney, etc.). Acute disease tests,
such as nervous system and skin reactions,
can be performed over a relatively short time
period. Most studies are conducted for 3-,
13-, or 52-week intervals, and use exaggerated
dosages to compensate for the short
testing periods.
"Because of the short period under which
the studies are conducted, the health effects
resulting from the higher doses of the chemicals
are relevant," says Dr. Virginia Dobozy
of the EPA's Pesticide Division. These effects
can include head-nodding; facial
twitching; exaggerated blinking; gag responses;
weight increase of the spleen, thymus,
and adrenal glands; and/or atrophy of
the thymus.
Long-term studies, needed to understand
the chronic effects of the pesticides, are few
by comparison. Chronic disease such as cancer,
immune suppression, developmental or
reproductive damage, and DNA damage can
take months or years to manifest.
However, the cumulative effect -
potential damage from continued use of one
specific pesticide product or multiple
products over a dog's lifetime - is unknown.
Also unknown is the potential for synergistic
effects - combined impacts of chemical
exposures from their home and outdoor
environments. Neither the cumulative nor
the synergistic effects of chemicals in
products are required to be tested by the EPA
before a product is made commercially
available. So, our dogs may be more
vulnerable to unknown chemical-related
dangers than the happy commercials would
have you believe.
Critics of the pesticide industry claim
that the EPA registers pesticides not on
safety, but on a cost-benefit basis, balancing
health and environmental concerns
against the economic gain to the manufacturer
and the end user of the product. But
even if the pesticide manufacturers and the
EPA are not overly concerned about our
safety, we as consumers and guardians
should be very concerned.
Too good to be true
Today, spot-on flea preparations are considered
by many as the Rolls Royce of flea
products, and sell swiftly in veterinary clinics
and pet stores. Each of the makers of
these products claim that they are safe - safer
than ever - and that only the targeted insects
will be affected by the products' neu-
Advantage
Bayer Corporation, Shawness Mission, KS
(800) 255-6826 or nofleas.com
Active ingred: 9.1% imidacloprid
Inert ingred: 90.9% (not disclosed)
(MSDS indicate inerts include some solvents)
Adams Spot-on Flea & Tick Control
Farnam Pet Products, Phoenix, AZ
(602) 285-1660 or farnam.com
Active ingred: 45.0% permethrin
Inert ingred: 55.0% (not disclosed)
BioSpot Flea & Tick Control
Farnam Pet Products, Phoenix, AZ
(602) 285-1660 or farnam.com
Active ingred: 45.0% permethrin
5.0% pyriproxyfen
Inert ingred: 50.0% (not disclosed)
Defend EXspot Treatment
Schering-Plough Animal Health, Union, NJ
(800) 842-3532 or www.sgp.com/main.html
Active ingred: 65.0% permethrin
Inert ingred: 35.0% (not disclosed)
Spot-On Pesticides and Their Ingredients
Frontline Top Spot
Merial Limited, Iselin, NJ
(800) 660-1842 or frontline.com
Active ingred: 9.7% fipronil
Inert ingred: 90.3% (not disclosed)
(MSDS indicates inerts include ethanol
7.7%, polyvinlpyrrolidone 6.9%,
butylhydroxytoluene 0.3%,
butlyhydroxanisole 0.3%, and carbitol
[diethylene glycol monoethyl ether])
(Note: Frontline Plus is essentially the same
as Frontline Top Spot, but with the addition
of 8.8% methoprene, an IGR.)
Zodiac FleaTrol Spot On
Wellmark International, Schaumburg, IL
(800) 950-4783 or zodiacpet.com
Active ingred: 45.0% permethrin
3.0% methoprene (IGR)
Inert ingred: 52.0% (not disclosed)
20 | FEBRUARY 2002 Copyright© 2002, Belvoir Publications, Inc. TO
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rotoxic impacts. The products are frequently
advertised as safe for small children and
adults as well as puppies (over eight weeks)
and geriatric dogs. Do they sound too good
to be true? Well, perhaps they are.
The spot-on flea products fall into four
general categories of insecticides. All have
neurotoxic effects. The first three -
imidacloprid (a chloro-nicotinyl insecticide),
fipronil (a phenylprazole insecticide),
and permethrin (a synthetic broad spectrum
pyrethroid insecticide) - all work by disrupting
the nervous system of insects, killing by
contact or ingestion. The fourth type contains
insect growth regulators (IGR), which
don't kill, but interrupt the flea's life cycle.
Imidacloprid is the first of its class of
insecticides, and is relatively new on the
block; it was introduced in 1994. Laboratory
testing on mice, dogs, and rats, indicates
that this insecticide can be neurotoxic
to laboratory animals, causing incoordination,
labored breathing, thyroid lesions, reduced
birth weights, and increased frequency
of birth defects.
Fipronil was introduced in the United
States in 1996. It is a neurotoxin and suspected
human carcinogen. Fipronil can
cause liver toxicity, thyroid lesions (cancer),
damage to the kidneys, increased cholesterol
levels, alterations in thyroid hormones, incoordination,
labored breathing, increased
miscarriages, and smaller offspring.
Fipronil
Imidacloprid
Methoprene
Permethrin
Pyriproxyfen
Ethanol
Butylhydroxanisole
Butyldydroxytoluene
Carbitol
Polyvinlpyrrolidone
Active
Active
Active
Active
Active
Inert
Inert
Inert
Inert
Inert
Carcinogen
Organ damage
Neurotoxin
(nervous system
damage)
Teratogen
(reproductive damage)
Skin problems
Carcinogen
Organ damage
Neurotoxin
Teratogen
Organ damage
Neurotoxin
Carcinogen
Organ damage
Neurotoxin
Teratogen
Autoimmune
Teratogen
Teratogen
Carcinogen
Carcinogen
Neurotoxin
Organ damage
Carcinogen
Thyroid cancer (possible human carcinogen)
Increased organ weights, altered thyroid hormones
Loss of appetite, underactivity, convulsions, whining, barking, crying
(vocalization), body twitches/tremors, overactivity, salivation,
stiffened limbs,
unsteady gait, incoordination, labored breathing
Reduced fertility, decreased litter size and body weights in litters,
fetus mortality
Severe moist inflammation, ulcerations, skin sloughing, chemical burn,
itching,
hair loss at and beyond the application site
Yet to be determined; evidence of thyroid lesions in dogs
Liver, kidney, thyroid, heart, lungs, spleen, adrenal, brain, gonads;
liver toxicity,
increased organ weights, thyroid lesions, increased cholesterol levels
in dogs
Incoordination and labored breathing, muscle weakness including
muscles
necessary for breathing
Increased miscarriages and smaller offspring
Liver enlargement
Headaches, eye and throat irritation, difficulty breathing, confusion,
dizziness
and nausea in humans
Liver and lung tumors (possible human carcinogen)
Kidney enlargement, changes in lung
Tremors, incoordination, elevated body temperature, increased
aggressive
behavior, learning disruption
Fertility is affected
Bone marrow changes in laboratory animals
Reduced weight gain, toxicity to pups
Adverse effects on fetus
Animal carcinogen (possible human carcinogen)
Animal carcinogen (possible human carcinogen)
Headache, depression, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal and lumbar
pain
Pathological lesions in brain, lungs, liver menni; possibility of
pulmonary edema,
intravascular hemolysis and bone marrow depression
Not evaluated by EPA for carcinogenic
INGREDIENT TYPE AFFECTED SYSTEM LABORATORY ANIMAL HEALTH EFFECTS
Adverse Effects of Ingredients Found in Spot-On Products
Sources of the above information include reports from the
Environmental Protection Agency; Occupational Safety & Health
Administration, US Dept. of Labor; Extoxnet:
Extension Toxicology Network; Journal of Pesticide Reform, Material
Safety Data Sheets, Pesticide Action Network North America, and more.
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Publications, Inc. THE WHOLE DOG JOURNAL | 21
In a review of the fipronil pet formulations,
Dr. Virginia Dobozy of the EPA's Pesticide
Division states that "this is a persistent
chemical that has the potential for nervous
system and thyroid toxicity after long
term exposure at low dosages."
Permethrin, a synthetic broad spectrum
pyrethroid insecticide, is suspected to be an
endocrine disrupter and a carcinogenic insecticide
(causing lung cancer and liver tumors
in laboratory animals). Some
permethrin products have additional "active"
ingredients in lesser percentages, and
include methoprene, and pyriproxyfen (described
below).
Methoprene and pyriproxyfen are both
insect growth regulators (IGR), which limit
the development of juvenile fleas so they
cannot reproduce. Test results indicate that
methoprene causes enlarged livers and degeneration
of parts of the kidneys.
All of the above active ingredients have
induced responses in laboratory animals that
give cause for alarm. While these new products
are suggested as safer than their predecessors,
they indicate high levels of acute
and chronic poisoning from short-term use.
Method of action
Whether or not it is purposeful, manufacturers
of these spot-on flea products have
managed to convince many veterinarians
and animal guardians that these products are
not absorbed into our dogs' systems. The
companies' literature describes in vague and
contradictory detail how the chemicals don't
go beyond the hair follicles and fat layers of
the dogs' skin.
Take, for example, information published
on Merial's Web site for Frontline
("How Frontline Works"). In one place, it
clearly states that fipronil (Frontline's "active"
ingredient) is absorbed into the skin
("Sebaceous glands provide
a natural reservoir
for Frontline . . ."), but
other statements suggest
that fipronil stays there
and then leaves through
the same entry point without
moving into any other
parts of the dog's body - an illogical conclusion.
When the EPA's Dr. Dobozy reviewed
the results of a fipronil metabolism study,
she reported that "significant amounts of radio-
labeled fipronil were found [not only]
in various organs and fat . . . [but they were
also] excreted in the urine and feces, and
were present in other parts of the body . . .
which demonstrated that the chemical is
absorbed systemically."
Veterinarians and pet owners who pay
close attention can witness evidence that
these products are indeed systemically absorbed.
Dr. Stephen Blake, a San Diego veterinarian,
relates a client's experience: "We
put Advantage on the backs of our dogs and
could smell it on their breath in a matter of
minutes following the application." Blake
stated that this indication of immediate absorption
did not tally with what he had been
led to believe by reading Bayer's literature.
He continues to question its safety for his
clients' animals.
Neurological health effects
Logic tells us that a topical chemical that is
not absorbed into the skin has no chance of
causing neurotoxic effects. Then why do the
Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDSs) for
all the permethrin-containing pesticides recommend
preventing their products from having
prolonged contact with the skin? And
why do they all state that skin sensations,
such as "numbness and tingling," can occur?
Schering-Plough's MSDS makes an additional
statement about its Defend EXspot
Treatment: "can be harmful if absorbed
through the skin and harmful following inhalation,"
causing headaches, dizziness, and
nausea.
Bayer does not reveal more than 90 percent
of the ingredients in Advantage, but its
MSDS does warn us to "use a respirator for
organic vapors" in order to avoid "respiratory
tract irritation and other symptoms such
as headache or dizziness" (symptoms of
nervous system exposure). Bayer's promotional
literature for Advantage, however,
states that "studies prove that using 20-24
times the dosage on dogs and cats does not
cause any internal or external side effects,"
and that ". . . switching to Advantage from
another flea control product poses virtually
no risk to your pet."
Dr. Graham Hines, a veterinarian from
the United Kingdom, treated a four-year-old
female German Shepherd who had two Advantage
Top Spot treatments. He reported
that "both times she became unusually
clingy, and would not leave her guardian's
side, yet paced up and down all day, very
restlessly. These symptoms persisted for 48
hours before a gradual return to her normal
state." The neurotoxic effects were clear to
Dr. Hines.
Dr. Blake also finds different results than
the Bayer literature. "We are told that the
product affects only insects' nervous systems,
not mammals'. Several of my clients
told me that they accidentally got some
Advantage on their hands and when they
touched their mouths, their lips became immediately
numb for several hours. So much
for not having an effect on the nervous system
of mammals."
Acute symptoms of headache, nausea,
and abdominal and lumbar pain are associ-
Don't just "consult your
veterinarian." We would
suggest NEVER using on
"debilitated, aged, medicated,
pregnant or nursing" dogs.
US EPA "Signal Word"
Learning to Read the Label
Note that cats are at a special risk
of being poisoned by this product,
even if they simply have "close
physical contact" with treated
dogs.
List of "active"
(known) and "inert"
(who knows what?)
ingredients.
This is the product maker.
If your dog displays any problems
following application, report this to
the maker. Pesticide manufacturers
are required by federal law to
forward reports of product injuries
to the EPA.
When researching
a chemical, use
the EPA
Registered
Number.
22 | FEBRUARY 2002 Copyright© 2002, Belvoir Publications, Inc. TO
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Kathleen Dudley is a writer and
photgrapher, and lives in New Mexico.
ated with carbitol, one of the "inert" ingredients
in Frontline. According to the MSDS,
carbitol induced these symptoms in laboratory
settings.
Curiously, these potential side effects are
not published in the literature accompanying
the products, nor do many veterinarians
know the dangers. But there are numerous
anecdotal reports from veterinarians in the
U.S. and the U.K. of dogs who were treated
with spot-on products who have displayed
signs of neurological damage, such as depression,
lethargy, convulsions, underactivity,
tremors, overactivity, stiffened limbs,
and lameness.
Adverse skin effects
Topical skin irritation is listed on all the
MSDSs of the products reviewed in this article;
however, product literature inserts fail
to emphasize the extreme nature of the problems.
They all instruct the users that their
products are for "external use only," and to
"avoid contact with the skin," but only
Merial's product insert appears to suggest
there is some possibility
of adverse skin contact
reactions.
Dr. Dee Blanco, a
holistic veterinarian
practicing in New
Mexico, treated 20
dogs for adverse reactions
to Farnam's flea product. In a letter to
the Farnam regarding a client who had used
one of Farnam's permethrin-based insecticides,
Dr. Blanco stated, "All the dogs (20
out of her 24 dogs treated with BioSpot )
had pruritus (severe itching of the skin) with
bleeding and cracking of the skin, various
degrees of erythema (intense redness of the
skin), many fluid vesicles (blisters), severe
hair loss, and elephantiasis (thickening of
the skin) with chronic itching. Many also
showed severe mental depression, lethargy,
and symptoms concomitant with aggravated
liver toxicity. All symptoms appeared within
two weeks after applications of your
(BioSpot) product, also a consistent timeframe
for liver toxicity after absorption
through the skin. . . To date, most of the dogs
have dramatically improved but a few still
remain symptomatic."
Dr. Blanco also stated that one dog died
of liver cancer within three months of this
BioSpot application, which she says "could
have been exacerbated by the application
of BioSpot." Permethrin is indicated as a
possible carcinogen by the EPA, causing
liver enlargement and cancers in laboratory
mammals.
When Dr. Dobozy reviewed the reports
from fipronil product studies, she found that
Frontline "does not adequately describe the
severe reactions" reported by veterinarians
- sloughing, "chemical burn" conditions,
and extensively affected areas
well beyond the application site.
When these incidents were reported,
Merial recommended
bathing the dogs. That's strange,
because their literature indicates
the product remains effective after bathing.
The MSDS for Bayer's Advantage tell
us that "prolonged contact with the skin can
cause defatting of the skin due to solvent
component in the products," to "avoid skin
contact," "to wear appropriate gloves when
handling the product," and to "wash off any
contamination."
Chronic disease
Based upon toxicological studies, a dog suffering
from liver, kidney, thyroid, adrenal,
spleen, lung, brain or gonadal conditions
could experience heightened states of
chronic diseases, with the potential for development
of cancer, when spot-on flea
preparations are used. Permethrin is linked
to malignant liver and lung tumors and autoimmune
system disease, and at very low
levels suppresses the immune system. Thyroid
lesions have developed in laboratory
studies in dogs during imidacloprid tests.
Further studies are necessary to understand
the possibilities of malignancy. Thyroid cancer
has been linked to fipronil, according to
the EPA. The data from the metabolism and
chronic toxicity studies for fipronil indicate
that " . . . this is a persistent chemical and
has the potential for nervous system and thyroid
toxicity after long-term exposure at low
levels," according to Dr. Dobozy.
In the Journal of Pesticide Reform, author
Caroline Cox cites studies that show
thyroid sensitivity to imidacloprid can result
in thyroid lesions, as well as increased
incidences of miscarriages, mutagenic
(DNA damage) abnormalities, and abnormal
skeletons in animal studies. In addition,
one metabolite (breakdown of the chemical
into new chemical compounds during the
metabolism process in the body) of
imidacloprid appears to be far more toxic
to mammals than the imidacloprid itself.
General risk factors
Of course, not all dogs exhibit immediately
noticeable symptoms when dosed with a
commercial spot-on flea product. 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. Animals with a heightened
sensitivity to chemicals or with exposures
from multiple sources such as a flea
collar; other dips, sprays, dust, or flea
bombs; yard pesticides; and
house termite extermination,
are most likely to react. The
cumulative and synergistic
impacts of pesticides can
take a heavy toll on animals.
Dr. Jerry Blondell, of the US EPA Office
of Pesticides, has indicated clearly "not
to use pesticides on the old, the sick, or the
young." While some of the literature for the
spot-on products does discourage this usage,
many dog guardians and veterinarians
overlook or disregard these written precautions.
Although the number of dogs reported
to react to these products may seem small,
this does not suggest the overall impact is
small. First, spot-on products are relatively
new, and many problems are cumulative.
Second, reactivity to chemicals in a
population is similar to other population statistics
and is represented by a bell-shaped
curve. In other words, at one end of the spectrum
are sensitive individuals, and at the
opposite end are resistant individuals; these
groups are relatively small compared to the
vast middle group, who show varying degrees
of susceptibility - but who are all susceptible.
Thus the sensitive group - dogs
who have displayed signs of toxicity - happen
to be the sentinels for the younger,
healthier ones who will eventually be affected;
it's just a matter of time.
Safe alternatives
Integrated pest management (IPM) is a nontoxic
approach used to eradicate any insect
infestation. Simply, it is a way of thinking
about how to preserve the quality of life on
this planet and within the earth's stratosphere
- of understanding not only the damages of
the pesticide to all species and the environment,
but also understanding the consequences
of insect resistance to the constant
parade of new, more sophisticated, and perhaps
more toxic pesticide formulas. The
IPM process was initially designed to safeguard
all species, including the environment,
from the ravages of pesticides.
In the next issue, we will present a
complete indoor and outdoor IPM treatment
program for effective, non-poisonous flea
control.