Bayer pie

Anirnal Health Business Group Eastern Way

Bury St Edmunds Suffolk 1P32 7AH

Telephone: (01284) 763200 Fax: (01 284) 70281 0

Mr C F B Hamilton

Quarantine Abolition Fighting Fund P 0 Box 151 Chichester

West Sussex P020 6BB

Dear Mr Hamilton

Thank you for your letter of 5th April regarding the Pet Travel Scheme and regular use of Droncit/praziquantel. As I am sure you are aware the original intention of the registration of this products containing praziquantel either on its own or in combination multi-wormers was to control worms in dogs. As such Drontal Plus is licensed for use in young puppies at 2-weekly intervals. We have in fact carried out safety studies using multiple overdoses on single days at weekly intervals or continuous treatment for 5 day periods, all of which are without any noted side-effect.

The ethics of such regular, repeated worming are of course somewhat different but I think this is an individual decision which owners will have to make prior to travelling. From my knowledge of acaricides I would have considerably more concern about regular repeated use of them. The most frequently used product for control of ticks in the UK carries a warning not to be repeated at less than monthly intervals which could cause major problems. Our concerns have been aired to the Regulatory Authorities and to MAFF but they are relatively uninterested in this situation.

Best regards

Yours sincerely

Watson MA VetMB CBiol M1Biol MRCVS Technical Services Manager