Are you a heartworm preventive compliant pet owner?

Summer is here, and that can only mean flea and tick populations will grow exponentially with the heat and humidity. For veterinarians, the warmer months also signify a growing mosquito population and increased risk for mosquito-transmitted heartworm disease.

Veterinarians educate pet owners daily about the importance of heartworm disease prevention. The reality is that while most pet owners want to be diligent about preventing heartworm disease in their dogs and cats, client compliance for regular, once-monthly heartworm preventive administration is less than 50 percent!

Heartworm disease can be deadly for both dogs and cats. The end point for heartworm disease in dogs is congestive heart failure, while cats' symptoms are more asthma-like and can even include sudden death. Treatment is available for dogs, but it is costly and involves the use of potentially toxic arsenic drugs. Currently, veterinarians lack an approved, safe treatment for heartworms in cats.

Once again, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure when it comes to heartworm disease. Proper and timely administration of heartworm preventive medications is essential to keeping pets healthy.

But, I already informed you that even the best pet owners have difficulty being "compliant" with once-monthly heartworm preventive medication administration. In light of that, I want to share some exciting news with you. ProHeart 6 (moxidectin) injectable canine heartworm preventive medication, proven to prevent canine heartworm disease continuously for six months, has returned to the veterinary market. Please note that this drug may be given to dogs only.

ProHeart 6 was available to U.S. veterinarians in 2001 but was recalled in the summer of 2004 when the FDA had concerns about adverse events surrounding administration of this drug. However, Fort Dodge Animal Health, the manufacturer of this drug, persisted with its argument that ProHeart 6 is both safe and extremely effective.

In fact, while the drug was unavailable in the U.S. for the last four years, it continued to be used in many European markets and Australia. In addition, ProHeart 12, a higher concentration of ProHeart 6, continues to be administered by Australian veterinarians as a preventive medication for a full year of heartworm protection.

While it is exciting news for veterinarians to again have the opportunity to increase canine heartworm preventive compliance through the use of this six-month injectable heartworm preventive, the re-introduction of ProHeart 6 does come with some restrictions. Veterinarians may only administer this drug to dogs at least 6 months old and under 7 years of age. Once a dog receives ProHeart 6, there is no upper age limit for re-administration of the drug every six months.

For your dog to receive its first ProHeart 6 injection, your veterinarian will need to examine your pet to certify health, then perform a heartworm test and collect blood for wellness testing. The FDA is requiring this patient information as baseline data necessary for follow up on future claims of adverse events associated with ProHeart 6 administration, should they occur. You will be asked to sign a consent form prior to your dog being treated with this drug.

Other restrictions for the use of Proheart 6 include that it cannot be administered within one month of a vaccine, nor may it be given to sick or underweight animals. Veterinarians must also "give it with caution in dogs with pre-existing allergic disease, including previous vaccine reactions, food allergy, atopy (inhalant or seasonal allergies), and flea allergy dermatitis."

Although the FDA requirements may sound daunting, I can tell you with confidence that when I used ProHeart 6 in the past prior to its recall, it was an extremely popular heartworm preventive choice for my clients. We administered hundreds of doses of ProHeart 6 and observed no adverse events associated with it.

The only difference in my experience is that, as a veterinarian, I was able to do a better job of preventing heartworm disease for my canine patients when I used ProHeart 6. By administering ProHeart 6 to dogs every six months, I had the security of knowing that these patients were indeed heartworm protected, and I saw these dogs every six months for wellness exams. I had yet another opportunity to be proactive in detecting illness early in my canine patients.

If you want to improve your "compliance" for preventing heartworm disease in your dog, ask your veterinarian if Proheart 6 administration is right for you and your pet.

Dr. Bonnie Jones is a veterinarian and co-owner of Delphos Animal Hospital which she operates with her husband, Dr. John H. Jones. She was the valedictorian and Outstanding Senior Clinician of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 1985. Questions may be sent to Dr. Jones at Delphos Animal Hospital, 1825 E. Fifth St., Delphos, OH 45833.