In the 2010 ZOETIS ceased marketing of its metaflumizone products for use on dogs and cats (PROMERIS and PROMERIS DUO).

Common name: METAFLUMIZONE

Type: Pesticide
Chemical class: semicarbazone

CHEMICAL STRUCTURE

Molecular structure of METAFLUMIZONE

 

 

 

 

 

 


EFFICACY AGAINST PARASITES

Type of action: Contact and systemic insecticide
Main veterinary parasites controlled: fleas, houseflies

Efficacy against a specific parasite depends on the delivery form and on the dose administered. National regulatory authorities determine whether a product is approved for a given indication, i.e. use on a particular host at a specific dose and against a specific parasite. Check the labels of the products available in your country.

Click here for general information on features and characteristics of PARASITICIDES.


SAFETY

Oral LD50, rat, acute*: >5000 mg/kg
Dermal LD50, rat, acute*: >5000 mg/kg
* These values refer to the active ingredient. Toxicity has to be determined for each formulation as well. Formulations are usually significantly less toxic than the active ingredients.

MRL (maximum residue limit): Not applicable: not approved for livestock
Withholding periods for meat, milk, eggs: Not applicable: not approved for livestock

Learn more about metaflumizone safety.

General safety information for antiparasitics is available in specific articles in this site (click to visit):

WARNING

Never use products for livestock on dogs and cats unless they are explicitly approved for both livestock and pets. Pets may not tolerate livestock formulations.

Never use agricultural or hygiene products with this or any other active ingredient on livestock or pets, even if there are veterinary products with this same active ingredient approved for use on animals. The formulations for agricultural or hygiene use are different and may be toxic for livestock or pets.

It is obvious that veterinary products are not intended for and should never be used on humans!!!


MARKETING & USAGE

Decade of introduction: 2000
Introduced by: BASF
Some original brands: PROMERIS (FORT DODGE, for pets), ALVERDE (in agriculture)
Patent: VALID 

Use in LIVESTOCK: No, only for off-animal use
Use in HORSES: No
Use in
DOGS and CATS: Yes, scarce

Main delivery forms:

Use in human medicine: No
Use in
public/domestic hygiene: Yes
Use in
agriculture: Yes
Generics available: 
No


PARASITE RESISTANCE

On livestock: No
On pets: No

Learn more about parasite resistance and how it develops.


SPECIFIC FEATURES

Metaflumizone was an insecticide belonging to the chemical class of the semicarbazones, a rather new family of pesticides, related to the pyrazolines, an older class of insecticides described in the 1970s. There are so far no other semicarbazones for use on animals.

It was available as a spot-on (squeeze-on - pipettes) for flea control on dogs and cats, alone or combined with amitraz that adds efficacy against ticks.

It was also used in a few baits for the control of houseflies and other nuisance flies in livestock operations.

In the 2010 ZOETIS ceased marketing of its metaflumizone products for use on dogs and cats (PROMERIS and PROMERIS DUO). This decision seemed to be related to an investigation that associated metaflumizone with a higher incidence of the immune disorder pemhigus foliaceus in pets.

Efficacy of metaflumizone

Metaflumizone is highly effective against adult fleas. Used as a spot-on it provides effective control for about 4 weeks.

It is also highly effective against houseflies, with the significant feature that its mode of action is different from the one of most other insecticide. 

Metaflumizone is not effective against any ticks or mites or other biting insects of pets such as lice, mosquitoes, stable flies, etc.

Pharmacokinetics of metaflumizone

Following oral administration to rats, absorption into the bloodstream was rather low. Most of the administered dose was excreted through feces. Absorbed metaflumizone is extensively metabolized, and several metabolites can be detected in blood, bile and urine. After topical administration to dogs absorption through the skin is very low. However, treated animals may ingest metaflumizone through licking or grooming.

Mechanism of action of metaflumizone

Metaflumizone's molecular mode of action consists in blocking the sodium channels in the nerve cells of the target insects. This causes paralysis and death of the affected insects.

Click here to view the list of all technical summaries of antiparasitic active ingredients in this site.