(NAPSA)—Pet owners who take their dogs’ health to heart may have some encouraging news: Heartworm disease may be easier to prevent than ever. Heartworm disease is a lifethreatening parasitic infection transmitted to dogs by mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites a dog already infected with the disease, it draws tiny heartworm larvae— called microfilaria—up with the dog’s blood. During the next one to two weeks, the larvae grow in the mosquito and are then transferred to the next dog it bites. Within three to four months, the worms surround the dog’s heart and arteries. The condition causes symptoms such as chronic coughing, lethargy, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite and—ifleft untreated—even death. Due to the way the disease is spread, virtually no dog is immune to the condition.It affects all breeds and all types—even dogs that stay mostly indoors. Veterinarians say the best way to deal with the disease is with preventative medicines. These medicines, however, are only effective when given on a regular basis—something not every dog owner does. According to a recent survey of dog owners, more than 80 percent of the respondents failed to give their dogs their monthly heartworm preventatives on time. “There is a problem with client compliance with heartworm protection,” says Dr. Paul Black, a veterinarian in Rochester, New York. “Unfortunately we see cases every year of heartworm disease in dogs that previously have been o) Dog owners should havetheir dog tested for heartworms regularly and give their pet a heartworm preventative, like new ProHeart 6. dispensed preventatives.” To help protect dogs from heartworms, veterinarians can now prescribe a preventative that provides six months of continuous protection in one dose. The new medication, called ProHeart? 6, is administered by a veterinarian during a regular office visit. It is manufactured by Fort Dodge Animal Health. “The availability of a sustained-release heartworm preventative will certainly have great advantages,” says Dr. David Knight, president of the American Heartworm Society. “For one thing, it would put a little more of the control in the handsof the veterinarian, since it would be administered by the veterinarian, rather than the owners themselves. With a high level of effectiveness for a six-month period, everyone could be assured of complete protection,” he says. The preventative has been extensively tested in multiple U.S. field trials. It was recently approved by the Center for Veterinary Medicine—a branch of the Food and Drug Administration. For more information, call 1-800-772-5040.
