CBS 4 Denver: News 4 Investigates: Dog Heartworm = Medication Under Microscope

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News 4 Video: Watch Brian Maass' = Investigates=20 Report

News 4=20 Investigates: Dog Heartworm Medication Under=20 Microscope

Jul 8, = 2004 8:06=20 pm US/Mountain
WINDSOR,=20 Colo. (News = 4) A drug approved to protect your dog is now = under the=20 microscope.

The Food and Drug Administration is = investigating=20 the drug ProHeart 6 because of the number of adverse = reactions and=20 deaths reported by veterinarians and dog owners. ProHeart 6 = is an=20 injectable medication that's supposed to protect against = heartworm=20 and kill parasites.

Veterinarians who offer ProHeart = 6=20 treatments inject dogs every six months to prevent = heartworms as=20 part of the procedure. It's more convenient than monthly = pills, but=20 now thousands of pet owners are questioning its=20 safety.

Veterinarian Robin Downing says she has one = priority.=20 "My job is to advocate on behalf of beings who cannot = advocate for=20 themselves," she said.

That's why Downing is now = advocating=20 that pet owners who come to her clinic in Windsor stop using = ProHeart 6.

"We had several events that we thought = were=20 related to an adverse reaction to ProHeart 6," Downing=20 said.

A Jack Russell terrier named Oscar is one of = the=20 animals Downing said suffered after receiving ProHeart=20 6.

Oscar's owners, Ryan and Megan Boothe, said Oscar = started=20 having daily seizures after getting the heartworm = medication. Ryan=20 Boothe said their dog would lay there for hours and hours = and not=20 even move, and his chest would be heaving.

Downing = said Oscar=20 is just one example.

Jean Brudd said all three of her = dogs --=20 Nicki, Tasha and Casey -- all got shots of ProHeart 6 at a = different=20 clinic. Two died and one remains on medication.

"I = didn't=20 want to think the shot was responsible," Brudd = said.

Nicki=20 and Tasha died just months after getting shots to prevent = heartworm.=20 There has been no direct link found between their deaths and = ProHeart 6, though. Brudd keeps their ashes by her bed and = thinks=20 about them constantly.

"I'm the only one who didn't = have a=20 shot in the household, and I'm the one who's not in a wooden = box or=20 on medication," Brudd said.

Downing said she saw = enough=20 problems with ProHeart 6 that she pulled the drug off her = shelves.=20 "Does ProHeart 6 really deserve a place in my practice from = the=20 perspective I have as a primary care provider? And our = answer was,=20 'I don't think so.'"

More than 5,000 veterinarians = and dog=20 owners have filed complaints about ProHeart 6 with the FDA. = Nearly=20 500 dogs have died after receiving an = injection.

Since the=20 drug became available two years ago, the FDA has required = its maker=20 to add safety information to the label.

The = government also=20 required ProHeart's manufacturer, Fort Dodge Animal Health, = to write=20 two letters to veterinarians alerting them of the label = changes,=20 which include warnings about the possibility of severe = adverse=20 reactions and in rare cases, death.

Fort Dodge = maintains its=20 drug is safe and that the number of adverse events reported = to the=20 FDA represents a fraction of total doses sold.

"It's = a very=20 low reaction rate in terms of millions and millions of doses = that=20 have gone into protect dogs against heartworm," Fort Dodge=20 spokesperson Dr. Rami Cobb said. "We take every complaint = very=20 seriously. We investigate every individual animal with their = veterinarian."

Cobb maintains that the number of = doses given=20 continues to rise as the number of adverse events reported = falls,=20 but many dog owners say they are steering clear of ProHeart=20 6.

"I'd have to be 6 feet under," Brudd said. "I = would never=20 use ProHeart 6 again."

In April, the manufacturer of = the drug=20 issued a recall for countless vials of ProHeart 6 because = the drug=20 did not meet FDA specifications.

The FDA says it will = continue to investigate ProHeart 6.

News=20 4 Video:

Watch Brian Maass' = Investigates=20 Report

Additional=20 Resources:

If you want more information from the FDA or you want to = file an=20 adverse event report, visit a special section=20 of the FDA Web site or call the Center for Veterinary = Medicine=20 at (888) FDA-VETS.

Fort Dodge = Animal Health=20 ProHeart 6 Web site

The=20 Pet Guardian

ESPN Outdoors article: A=20 look at preventing heartworms

Tips:

Do you have a potential story for the News 4 = Investigative team?=20 Click here=20 to email the team.

(Copyright 2004 by news4colorado.com. = All=20 rights reserved.)

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