Lately a severe shortage of a drug called Immiticide has been generally publicised. This isn’t a drug for the treatment of people, but a drug made use of for the healing of dogs infected with adult heartworm. This shortage would not be such a major fear for pet owners if there had been another drug which might be used as a substitute – however the reality is, there is just one drug for this purpose that has Food and drug administration authorization – and that’s Immiticide.
The following is a short slideshow I made about Immiticide and its use with regards to heartworm therapy. As you can view, it is vital that pet dogs affected by mature worms will be able to get this particular procedure if they are to get better.
On my website, Heartworm Treatment For Dogs, I’ve got many messages by pet owners whose pet dogs have tested positive for heartworm and which have to have life-saving treatment. One dog owner reported that he needed to hold out two months before his pet could have these Immiticide injections because supplies needed to be procured out of the EU. You can see a copy of a notification by Meriel, the manufacturers for Immiticide that they have mailed to veterinarians in connection with current shortage through this weblink, Meriel letter (pdf is accessible from the FDA website)
It’s a really serious situation and one which has taken place in the past; and so it’s not a whole new phenomenon and there is certainly a bit of anger and also stress amongst dog owners that this scenario could possibly have actually been allowed to happen once again.
Worried dog owners are having their dogs put on a waiting list to get treatment, extending the pain of what’s already an incredibly stressful time. Vets have a good protocol designed for maintaining dogs during this waiting period of time which entails treating them with medications normally used for heartworm prevention to kill off juvenile larvae and prevent the scenario from getting a whole lot worse. Nonetheless, this doesn’t come with out its dangers and there appears to be an absence of information regarding when this present shortage will finish and what, if anything, is being carried out to avoid it from happening again going forward.
Advice meantime is to make certain if your pet dog has tested positive for heartworm you make certain your vet keeps track of his situation meticulously whilst he is on preventatives and awaiting treatment using Immiticide once supplies become available. You need to additionally avoid your pet dog having any strenuous exercise whilst you are waiting for him or her to have heartworm treatment.
If your pet is waiting for heartworm remedy and you may have recently been affected by this immiticide shortage and want more information on this subject and everything relevant to heartworm treatment and dog heartworm medicine please make use of the link in order to visit my web site.


One Response
2011 Nov 30
This is a very informative article. This shortage is unbelievable but at least they’re working on more alternatives (Trying to be positive)*. I have heard that now there is a product that both kills and prevents heart worms called HWF (Heart Worm Free)- this seems to be doing the best as a substitute.