FLEA AT LAST!
New Pill Promises Liberation From The Bugs That Bite
By Greg Orlando
Much can be said about the 2,400 varieties of the verminous flea and none of it is complimentary.
Fleas bite. They suck. A flea holds all the charm of a sewer rat and may well be the most annoying insect short of a politician. These are a flea’s good points.
Americans spend about $2.5 million a day or $900 million a year on products designed to kill and repel the buggers and, despite the money, fleas are still very much like Bill Cosby…everywhere. Until recently, pet owners and their animals have had to suffer through a variety of sprays, dips, baths, collars and semi-useless home remedies for relief from fleas. Now, the war against the dread bloodsuckers has escalated and an end to a lot of suffering may be at hand: freedom from fleas may now be as easy as feeding a dog one pill a month.
In March, the pharmaceutical company Ciba-Geigy released The Program to veterinarians across the country. The drug, which comes in pill form, is available by prescription for dogs, costs anywhere from $30-$42 for a six month supply and may well turn out to be the flea equivalent of the atom bomb.
Pretzel, Biscuit, Kahlua and Oreo are proof in the pudding. The four Cocker Spaniels, who vary in age from 5 months to 2 years have been on The Program since March. “I can tell the difference in the amount of scratching and biting,” their owner Jean Hofbauer says. Hofbauer says she gave the dogs a bath a few Sundays ago and noticed a grand total of two fleas on her dog Oreo.
The Program’s active ingredient is called Lufenuron and according to veterinarian Roseanne Rigsby of Permed on Bell Road, the drug does not kill adult fleas. Instead, it acts as a sort of birth control, eliminating a flea’s ability to produce viable offspring. When a dog swallows The Program pill, the Lufenuron is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream. Once mixed with a dog’s blood, the Lufenuron becomes flea food; according to the literature published by Ciba-Geigy, the drug begins to render fleas as impotent as a brass doorknob within 6-12 hours after ingestion.
Taken on its own, The Program will not provide immediate relief from fleas. An adult flea can live on a dog for about 100 days and so it may take anywhere from one to three months before an improvement is seen. Lufenuron, however, may be used in conjunction with other flea remedies which do kill adult fleas. The Program comes with only two requirements: the pill must be given with or right alter a full meal and must be given to all dogs in a household. Cats will have to wait until next year when Ciba-Geigy releases a liquid form of the drug designed just for felines. The Program works against a fleet greatest strength: its ability to reproduce at a manic pace. Female fleas lay about 25 eggs a day and about 500 in a lifetime. Given the chance, a pair of fleas and their descendants can produce millions of offspring.
Fleas go through four separate stages of existence: eggs, larvae, pupae and adult. Lufenuron interrupts the flea reproduction cycle at the egg and larvae stages. Flea eggs are produced in such large quantities that they make up roughly half of the total flea population: larvae account for another 35%. The drug, if it holds to its promise, will effectively play havoc with 85% of the affected flea population.
Alice Haynes, communications manager for Ciba-Geigy. says the drug received final approval from the veterinary branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last November. The Program has no side effects, she says, and comes with no safety warnings. All breeds are able to use the drug as are pregnant and lactating females and breeding males.
The only problem? “We just can’t make it fast enough,” Haynes say. She says the company is working double and weekend shifts to produce the drug and orders that arrive today will take 6-8 weeks to ship. Before the drug came out local veterinarians like Rigsby created waiting lists for the drugs. Now, shortages are occurring.
Rigsby has been prescribing Lufenuron for her patients since March and, so far, the drug has lived up to its expectations. None of the dogs have reacted badly to the drug. The only problem reported, she says, came from an owner whose dog suffered a little diarrhea.
New Pill Promises Liberation From The Bugs That Bite
By Greg Orlando
Much can be said about the 2,400 varieties of the verminous flea and none of it is complimentary.
Fleas bite. They suck. A flea holds all the charm of a sewer rat and may well be the most annoying insect short of a politician. These are a flea’s good points.
Americans spend about $2.5 million a day or $900 million a year on products designed to kill and repel the buggers and, despite the money, fleas are still very much like Bill Cosby…everywhere. Until recently, pet owners and their animals have had to suffer through a variety of sprays, dips, baths, collars and semi-useless home remedies for relief from fleas. Now, the war against the dread bloodsuckers has escalated and an end to a lot of suffering may be at hand: freedom from fleas may now be as easy as feeding a dog one pill a month.
In March, the pharmaceutical company Ciba-Geigy released The Program to veterinarians across the country. The drug, which comes in pill form, is available by prescription for dogs, costs anywhere from $30-$42 for a six month supply and may well turn out to be the flea equivalent of the atom bomb.
Pretzel, Biscuit, Kahlua and Oreo are proof in the pudding. The four Cocker Spaniels, who vary in age from 5 months to 2 years have been on The Program since March. “I can tell the difference in the amount of scratching and biting,” their owner Jean Hofbauer says. Hofbauer says she gave the dogs a bath a few Sundays ago and noticed a grand total of two fleas on her dog Oreo.
The Program’s active ingredient is called Lufenuron and according to veterinarian Roseanne Rigsby of Permed on Bell Road, the drug does not kill adult fleas. Instead, it acts as a sort of birth control, eliminating a flea’s ability to produce viable offspring. When a dog swallows The Program pill, the Lufenuron is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream. Once mixed with a dog’s blood, the Lufenuron becomes flea food; according to the literature published by Ciba-Geigy, the drug begins to render fleas as impotent as a brass doorknob within 6-12 hours after ingestion.
Taken on its own, The Program will not provide immediate relief from fleas. An adult flea can live on a dog for about 100 days and so it may take anywhere from one to three months before an improvement is seen. Lufenuron, however, may be used in conjunction with other flea remedies which do kill adult fleas. The Program comes with only two requirements: the pill must be given with or right alter a full meal and must be given to all dogs in a household. Cats will have to wait until next year when Ciba-Geigy releases a liquid form of the drug designed just for felines. The Program works against a fleet greatest strength: its ability to reproduce at a manic pace. Female fleas lay about 25 eggs a day and about 500 in a lifetime. Given the chance, a pair of fleas and their descendants can produce millions of offspring.
Fleas go through four separate stages of existence: eggs, larvae, pupae and adult. Lufenuron interrupts the flea reproduction cycle at the egg and larvae stages. Flea eggs are produced in such large quantities that they make up roughly half of the total flea population: larvae account for another 35%. The drug, if it holds to its promise, will effectively play havoc with 85% of the affected flea population.
Alice Haynes, communications manager for Ciba-Geigy. says the drug received final approval from the veterinary branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last November. The Program has no side effects, she says, and comes with no safety warnings. All breeds are able to use the drug as are pregnant and lactating females and breeding males.
The only problem? “We just can’t make it fast enough,” Haynes say. She says the company is working double and weekend shifts to produce the drug and orders that arrive today will take 6-8 weeks to ship. Before the drug came out local veterinarians like Rigsby created waiting lists for the drugs. Now, shortages are occurring.
Rigsby has been prescribing Lufenuron for her patients since March and, so far, the drug has lived up to its expectations. None of the dogs have reacted badly to the drug. The only problem reported, she says, came from an owner whose dog suffered a little diarrhea.