Sargent’s and Wellmark will Cease Manufacture of Flea and Tick Products for Pets

off the market

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with Sergeant's Pet Care Products, Inc. and Wellmark International to cease manufacturing flea and tick pet collars containing propoxur by April 1, 2015 and to cease selling the product by April 1, 2016. These flea and tick products are sold under the trade names Bansect, Sentry, Zodiac and Biospot and others. Since flea and tick collars have a shelf life of five years, be sure to read the ingredient list before buying any product.

EPA announced in their press release that this “voluntary” agreement will expedite the removal of propoxur containing products from the market, but the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a petition against the EPA in 2009 to cancel the allowed use of propoxur, a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, and tetrachlorvinphos, an organophosphate a class of chemicals that are also neurotoxins. So, expediency was not the issue for five years. NRDC filed a lawsuit against the EPA toforce the agency to respond to NRDC’s petitions to cancel all manufacturer registrations and uses of neurotoxic pesticides propoxur and tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) used in popular pet flea treatment products in February 2014. EPA had already negotiated an agreement with Wellmark and Sergeant’s by January 22, 2014.

off the market

Propoxur belongs to a class of pesticides called carbamates that can cause cognitive, behavioral and motor developmental defects in children. Several studies in the research literature documented that prenatal and early- life exposure to organophosphates of which TCVP is one, can impair children’s neurological development at levels below what can cause acute symptoms of poisoning. Due to concerns that the other organophosphates products can harm children’s more vulnerable developing brains and nervous systems, the agency had already restricted household use of other known neurotoxic pesticides.

EPA completed the propoxur pet collar risk assessment showing risks to children from exposure to pet collars containing propoxur in September 2013. Although the amounts in the residue left by flea collars are smaller than the doses that cause acute human symptoms, propoxur may cause long-term health consequences. Through pet collars, children are potentially exposed to levels of propoxur that exceed the US EPA's acceptable levels, according to an NRDC study published in 2009. That study found that after three days, 100 % of pets wearing a propoxur flea collar had enough chemical on their fur to exceed the EPA's acceptable dose level for toddlers.

EPA’s recent risk assessment confirmed this result. The decision reached between EPA and Sergeant's and Wellmark to remove this flea and tick products from the market is the solution to most quickly remove the pet collars from the market. Flea and tick collars work by leaving a pesticide residue on dogs' and cats' fur, which can be transferred to people by hugging, petting or coming into contact with the pets. Some children even sleep with their pets. The major source of exposure to these chemicals is from absorption through the skin after directly touching the treated pet. Small children may ingest pesticide residues when they touch a treated cat or dog and subsequently put their hands in their mouth.

EPA’s risk assessment found, in some but not all use scenarios, unacceptable risks to children from exposure to propoxur pet collars on the first day following application. Because the manufacturers could not find a way to eliminate unacceptable risk under all scenarios, EPA “encouraged” them to cancel these products and they subsequently agreed. Propoxur will remain a registered insecticide for use to control ticks, fleas and a variety of insects in industrial, commercial and residential facilities, just no longer used for pet flea and tick collars.

Flea and tick products can be appropriate treatments for protecting pets and people because fleas and ticks can transmit disease to animals and humans. In Northern Virginia we are especially aware of the threat of Lyme disease. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks; however, there are eleven tick borne diseases listed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Dogs are also very susceptible to tick bites and tick borne diseases. Vaccines are available for only some of the tick borne diseases that dogs can get, and they don’t keep the dogs from bringing ticks into your home, thus it is prudent to use a tick preventive product on your dog. Alternatives include newer pesticide products sprayed or spotted onto pets, such as fipronil (Frontline®) or imidacloprid (Advantage®). Particularly when used in combination with physical measures like frequent washing and combing of the pet and vacuuming carpets and furniture, can bring mild flea infestations under control. Cats are extremely sensitive to a variety of chemicals. Do not apply any insect acaricides or repellents to your cats without first consulting your veterinarian! It simply might be best and safest to keep your cat as an indoor pet.

Remember to protect yourself and your children from tick borne disease. CDC recommends protect your family from Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses by being diligent in preventing tick bites:
• Use insect repellent that contains 20 - 30% DEET on yourself and your children.
• Make children bathe or shower as soon as possible after they come indoors.
• Look for ticks on their bodies. Ticks can hide under the armpits, behind the knees, in the hair, and groin.
• Put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 60 minutes to kill any remaining ticks.

Antibiotic Resistance

When I was a child, antibiotics were still thought to be a miracle drug and saved my hearing in my right ear and maybe my life. Billions of microscopic bacteria normally live on the skin, in the gut, and in our mouths and throats. Most are harmless to humans, but some are pathogenic and can cause infections in the ears, throat, skin, and other parts of the body. In the pre-antibiotic era in the first half of the 20th century, people had no medicines against these common germs and as a result were often made quite ill, had severe complications or even died from bacterial infections. It has been less than 75 years that we have had antibiotics to fight these bacterial infections. Now, that miracle may be ending helped along by our excessive use and overuse of antibiotics.

Clostridium difficile, Enterobacteriaceae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae currently pose an urgent threat in the US

Less than a decade after antibiotics came into common use in medicine it began to be widely used as a feed additive in agriculture. It was discovered that antibiotics fed to young animals caused them to increase weight and grow faster on less food. To this day we don’t know exactly why that happens. Thumb through any farm supply catalogue and you are likely to see for sale medicated feet that “boosts the growth of poultry and livestock.” However, you are likely to find that medicated feed is out of stock. At the end of last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began implementing a voluntary plan with industry to phase out the use of certain antibiotics for enhanced food production. This action was taken as part of a coordinated program to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics used to treat human illness and reduce the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are a rapidly growing problem in the United States and the world. In 2012 at least 2 million people in the United States alone became infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 of those people died as a direct result of these infections. Many more people died from other conditions that were complicated by antibiotic-resistant infections. Almost 250,000 people in 2012 required hospital care for Clostridium difficile commonly known as C. difficile. At least 14,000 people died that year in the United States from C. difficile infections including the son of an acquaintance of mine who died in San Francisco despite the availability of excellent medical care. Antibiotic use is a major contributing factor to the spread of these infections. Many of these infections could have been prevented.

As antibiotic resistance grows, the antibiotics used to treat infections do not work as well or at all. The loss of effective antibiotic treatments will not only cripple the ability to fight routine infectious diseases but will also undermine treatment of infectious complications like C. difficile in patients with other diseases. Many of the wondrous advances in modern medicine—joint replacements, organ transplants, cancer therapy, and treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis—are dependent on the ability to fight infections with antibiotics. If that ability is lost, the ability to safely offer modern medical wonders will be lost with it.

Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs used in human medicine. However, up to 50% of all the antibiotics prescribed for people are not needed or are not optimally effective as prescribed. Antibiotics are also commonly used in food animals to prevent, control, and treat disease, and to promote the growth of food-producing animals. The use of antibiotics for promoting growth in livestock is not necessary, and the practice should be phased out. Guidance from the FDA at the end of last year plots a path towards this goal. According to the FDA it is difficult to directly compare the amount of drugs used in food animals with the amount used in humans, but there is evidence that more antibiotics are used in food production. The Pew Foundation reports that 70% of antibiotics manufactured in the United States are used in food production (though I could not identify their methodology for calculating this). The primary danger from antibiotic over use in animal feeding is from antibiotic resistant bacteria that survive to enter the food chain, not from human exposure to antibiotics in meat; however, there might be human health impact from broad low level exposure or changes in gut bacteria colonies.

from FDA

Antibiotic resistance infections have left the confines of hospitals and begun appearing in our communities without any connecting factors to the hospital population. Antibiotic-resistant infections outside of the hospital setting were rare until recently. Today, resistant infections that appear in the community include tuberculosis and respiratory infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea. Right now the biggest of these threats in the United States are Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and MRSA infections. Multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR and XDR TB) infections are an increasing threat outside of the United States and could spread very quickly because of the ways the disease is spread. Now the FDA and the CDC are developing a group of strategies to fight back against antibiotic resistance.

There are four core actions:

1. Preventing infections. Avoiding infections in the first place prevent infection and the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. There are many ways that drug-resistant infections can be prevented: immunization, safe food preparation, hand washing, and using antibiotics as directed and only when necessary. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening infections and can persist in a medical facility for years, so preventing infection in the first place is essential.
2. Tracking. The CDC gathers data on antibiotic-resistant infections, the causes of infections and whether there are particular risk factors that caused some people to get a resistant infection. With more information, scientists can develop specific strategies to prevent those infections and prevent the resistant bacteria from spreading.
3. Improving the way we use antibiotics. The most important action needed to greatly slow down the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections is to change the way antibiotics are used. Most antibiotic use is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe. Stopping the inappropriate and unnecessary use of antibiotics in people and animals would help greatly in slowing down the spread of resistant bacteria. This requires a commitment from all of us to only use antibiotics when necessary and appropriate and also to reserve the broad spectrum antibiotics (the big guns) for the most dire bacterial infections.
4. Finally, new diagnostic tests and new antibiotics must be developed. Antibiotic resistance occurs as part of the natural process in which bacteria continually evolve. The process of developing resistance can be slowed but not stopped. Therefore, we will always need new antibiotics to fight resistant bacteria as well as new diagnostic tests to determine the most effective treatment and track the development of resistance.