Nice Article! Animals Getting Less Health Care in Poor Economy: Royal Oak Patch

---> Immiticide Unavailability!<---

We have our Google alert set to stun. No, wait, to Immiticide. Anyway, every time we see it we hope it's to say Immiticide is back on the market. So far no luck with that, but we've been reading about the shortage throughout the country.

In this blog, we haven't done a big copy/paste of one article, but this article really made a lot of sense and was well written (hope they have themselves on Google alerts), and demonstrated the cycle that is happening now. Yes, like the heartworm life cycle! Exactly. 

Economy is bad - people cutting back here and there - including the annual HW test and monthly pills - more dogs are becoming  HW+  - and with more dogs becoming HW+ - guess what - more dogs become HW+ because of the heartworm life cycle.

Not good.

Please promote this information. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Or a few dollars a month can save the big cost down the line and save the life of your dog. Because the more people not using the monthly meds, the more chances that there will be HW+ dogs in an area.

So here is the article: http://royaloak.patch.com/articles/animals-getting-less-health-care-in-poor-economy#

And some quotes from it:

The poor economy is having a negative influence on the health care of animals. Veterinarians and animal shelters have reported an increase in illnesses, especially heartworm, along with a decrease in veterinary visits and preventive treatments.

“Before working at this practice, I worked at a much busier clinic," said T.J. Sharma, doctor of veterinary medicine and Ph.D.

"At that time, I only saw one or two cases of heartworm. Since the decline in the economy, I am seeing them much more frequently,” said Sharma, owner of Blue Cross Animal Hospital. “I have already treated 12 dogs this year.”

Preventive measures are the only way to block heartworms from reaching adulthood, Sharma said. 

Because of the decline in the economy, many dog owners feel that they don’t have the money to invest in their animals. However, preventatives are less costly than treating a dog that has been infected with heartworms, Sharma said.

“It’s a huge problem,” he said. “Even with one infected dog in an area, it’s dangerous. When there are fewer dogs with defense, more mosquitoes are carrying the parasites, and dogs are becoming infected more rapidly.”

To complicate the problem, Immiticide, the only FDA-approved treatment for heartworm in dogs, is temporarily unavailable. A recent letter from the drug’s manufacturer, Merial, explained the importance of conserving current supplies of the treatment and said the maker is experiencing challenges in manufacturing the drug.

While the company stated that it is trying to resolve the problem, it was vague on the details and unsure when the treatment will be back on the market.

And more good info in the link. 

Mila will check in next post!