Seresto Collar News

[Dirk CA]

I saw this news today about the Seresto collar. It's fairly alarming. I was wondering who on this board uses it? I've been using it on my BC Hazel for over a year with no issues, nor with my previous dog and cats for a few years prior top that. Simply put, I know of no better flea preventative. I just never see any fleas. But as instructed, I don't put the collar on too tight, allowing for a few fingers to fit between the collar and the pet's neck. As I was searching this forum for previous posts about fleas, I saw a common issue. That the tired and true preventatives of the past (Frontline, etc) just weren't working anymore. I guess fleas adapt and then become immune. For me, Seresto is the only thing that's working. At least for now.

 

As for the statistics of the number of pets who have died or been harmed, it would be beneficial to know how many collars have been sold so we could get a true idea of the percentage that have issues. These are after all pesticides, and will always have the potential to affect some more than others. But there should definitely be an EPA warning applied to the product, as well as further study into the percentages affected.

 

 

[diane allen]

I saw that news too, and my first thought was also, "how many were sold?"  And the study seemed quite flawed - mice to dogs, and how many dogs who died or were harmed could they tie directly to the collar?

I live where fleas and ticks are not a problem (thank doG!).  But I put collars on my three BCs when we traveled a few years ago to CA.  We hiked in some woods, and they all three came out with LOTS of ticks on them.  So, I guessed that the ticks have to bite first to get "poisoned" then die and fall off.  So much for preventing tick borne diseases!  One of those three later had cancer - but it developed a very long time after he wore the collar, so I can't really make a connection.

I think I'll just stay home!

diane

[Dirk CA]

3 hours ago, diane allen said:

I saw that news too, and my first thought was also, "how many were sold?"  And the study seemed quite flawed - mice to dogs, and how many dogs who died or were harmed could they tie directly to the collar?

I live where fleas and ticks are not a problem (thank doG!).  But I put collars on my three BCs when we traveled a few years ago to CA.  We hiked in some woods, and they all three came out with LOTS of ticks on them.  So, I guessed that the ticks have to bite first to get "poisoned" then die and fall off.  So much for preventing tick borne diseases!  One of those three later had cancer - but it developed a very long time after he wore the collar, so I can't really make a connection.

I think I'll just stay home!

diane

Of course any single dog that dies is bad. But there are so many things at the pet store and the vets than can also cause serious issues or worse. 1700 dogs is a lot, but if that's out of 10 million collars sold, it's infinitesimal as far as odds go.

 

As for ticks, they are a nuisance. My dog Hazel picks a few when we go on hikes, but they don't stick around. Like you said, it kills them after they latch on and take a nibble. Which is better than seeing them hidden and completely engorged.

[Journey]

A friend of mine runs a tree farm nursery..he said the chemical in the collar is one they use on sight. They put on full hazmat gear when they use it. Nope, not going on my dog.

[Lawgirl]

I live in Australia, where we have paralysis ticks.  These ticks affect 10,000 dogs a year, fatally in 5% (500 a year), and painfully (and expensively) in many.  I am very lucky not to live in an area where these ticks are, but they are extremely dangerous, and my brother had a dog who was killed by such a tick. 

This is a slightly older article setting out the details of paralysis ticks and how they kill, the treatment required etc.

https://theconversation.com/ticked-off-lets-stop-our-dogs-and-cats-dying-of-tick-paralysis-this-year-63383

Is anyone familiar with canine ehrlichiosis?  There has been recent news of this disease spreading into the north of my state and being found in ticks there.  I gather it is also a very dangerous tick borne disease for dogs.

I guess what I am saying is that it becomes a balancing act between the risk of harm vs the risk of harm.  The balance in Australia, or at least in certain parts of Australia, probably looks quite different than in the US or Europe.

[Dirk CA]

7 hours ago, Lawgirl said:

I live in Australia, where we have paralysis ticks.  These ticks affect 10,000 dogs a year, fatally in 5% (500 a year), and painfully (and expensively) in many.  I am very lucky not to live in an area where these ticks are, but they are extremely dangerous, and my brother had a dog who was killed by such a tick. 

This is a slightly older article setting out the details of paralysis ticks and how they kill, the treatment required etc.

https://theconversation.com/ticked-off-lets-stop-our-dogs-and-cats-dying-of-tick-paralysis-this-year-63383

Is anyone familiar with canine ehrlichiosis?  There has been recent news of this disease spreading into the north of my state and being found in ticks there.  I gather it is also a very dangerous tick borne disease for dogs.

I guess what I am saying is that it becomes a balancing act between the risk of harm vs the risk of harm.  The balance in Australia, or at least in certain parts of Australia, probably looks quite different than in the US or Europe.

Those ticks sound horrible. Australia has ALL the scary pests.   But you're right. One has to weigh the pros and cons to see how their pets or farm animals will be affected.

[Journey]

12 hours ago, Lawgirl said:

Is anyone familiar with canine ehrlichiosis?  There has been recent news of this disease spreading into the north of my state and being found in ticks there.  I gather it is also a very dangerous tick borne disease for dogs.

Yes, I am familiar with Ehrlici..I have had 2 dogs diagnosed with it. Doxy, for about 16 weeks did the trick though. Of all of the TBD's out there this one seems to be the least damaging, if that's a good thing..

[Mark Billadeau]

On 3/3/2021 at 8:41 AM, Journey said:

A friend of mine runs a tree farm nursery..he said the chemical in the collar is one they use on sight. They put on full hazmat gear when they use it. Nope, not going on my dog.

While the active ingredient in these collars may be causing reactions at the dose being provided by the collars; the example above has a flaw.  The dose/exposure obtained while spraying will be higher and the possibly routes of body entry (inhalation, eyes, absorption through the skin, etc) will be more than from a collar.  If one were to exclude active ingredients based upon the required protection during agricultural spraying one would also need to exclude soap; agricultural spraying “insecticidal soap” also requires hazmat gear.

[Journey]

18 minutes ago, Mark Billadeau said:

While the active ingredient in these collars may be causing reactions at the dose being provided by the collars; the example above has a flaw.  The dose/exposure obtained while spraying will be higher and the possibly routes of body entry (inhalation, eyes, absorption through the skin, etc) will be more than from a collar.  If one were to exclude active ingredients based upon the required protection during agricultural spraying one would also need to exclude soap; agricultural spraying “insecticidal soap” also requires hazmat gear.

What is the dose/exposure while spraying? And what is the dose/exposure to a dog actually *wearing* this collar, in contact with their skin, for a 90 day period? 

[Mark Billadeau]

Go compare the dose per kg for ivermectin for oral, IM, and pour on for treatment of the same parasite.  The route of introducing a drug impacts the resulting serum levels.  Working backwards from this information one learns that how one is exposed to an active ingredient alters the amount one can tolerate before it becomes toxic.  Also the magnitude of the dose/time impacts the resulting serum levels; slow release from a collar vs spray coated with a liquid.

This publication describes how the slow release collars work.  The discussion section has a good overview.

The synergistic action of imidacloprid and flumethrin and their release kinetics from collars applied for ectoparasite control in dogs and cats

[Mark Billadeau]

I’ve seen a few published studies on human genes that impact how fast drugs are absorbed from a transdermal patch.  Perhaps, there are analogous canine mutations (with very low incident rates) that alter how fast drugs delivered to the skin of dog via spot-on or slow release collars are absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream.  If the serum levels get high enough most drugs can become toxic.

[GentleLake]

On 3/3/2021 at 8:41 AM, Journey said:

...the chemical in the collar...

Just to clarify, there are 2 different chemicals in the collar. One for ticks, one for fleas.

The interesting - and to me scary - thing about all this is that my vet assured me that the chemicals in these collars are considered to be of least concern by the EPA. I'd been trying to control ticks (which are terrible in my area, though I haven't seen a flea on any of my dogs for many years) with more natural approaches. One of my dogs is a tick magnet and they weren't working for her and not very well for the others either. And she contracted anaplasmosis this past year, which, albeit my experiences w/ TBDs is thankfully very limited, is more of a problem than the very highly problematic Lyme disease.

I can't speak to the accuracy of the reports, but one thing I do know is that adverse reactions to meds, pesticides and the like are grossly under-reported, especially in animals, and many more won't even be recognized for being that. So whatever the numbers reported are, the problem's probably much more widespread than the current information suggests.

And, yes, fleas, ticks and other pests are developing resistance to many of the chemicals used to try to control them. In some areas is seems to be regionally specific, so that any given treatment still works in some places while it's lost its effectiveness in others.

 

 

[Dirk CA]

On 3/7/2021 at 8:40 AM, GentleLake said:

 

And, yes, fleas, ticks and other pests are developing resistance to many of the chemicals used to try to control them. In some areas is seems to be regionally specific, so that any given treatment still works in some places while it's lost its effectiveness in others.

 

 

They've been around since the days of the dinosaur. They'll no doubt be around long after we're gone too. They're hardy little buggers.