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Originally Posted by kjc  I read both the VIN article and all 29 pages of the court document, and fell asleep somewhere in between, lol.
The lady is a whistleblower who feels she was unjustly fired for repeatedly finding holes in the research of the product efficacy which was presented and advertised to the public.
Merial makes claims that HeartGard Plus is 100% efficient. It is not, the real number is closer to 95%, (so 1 in 20 may get Heartworm). The company was court ordered to change their package labeling to reflect that. They have refused, and have destroyed much of the research documentation to hide the facts.
I would still use the product, I just bought some last week, but be sure to do Heartworm testing at least yearly, to insure that the product (or any Heartworm preventative) is working to protect my dogs.
Treatment is safer when caught early on in the disease, so through yearly testing and the use of preventatives year round, I can still keep my dogs relatively safe.
I am going to alternate heartworm preventatives with mine, I don't know if this will help any (I did discuss this with my vet and have his approval to do so), but it makes me feel safer in that the Heartworm in my area won't become immune to the product I am using (if this can even happen, IDK), or if there is a problem with the company that produces the preventatives, mine will still be protected by using a second or third preventative, on an alternating basis. |
Thanks for explaining in detail. I'm disappointed that companies just can't be honest, would people really stop using if it were only 95% effective? I'll keep using it too, we don't have a large problem with mosquitos in AZ, but I live next to a small lake and we have a pond, and I've read that recovery from the disease is very painful.