In this short video segment, Clarke Atkins, DVM, DACVIM, professor of medicine and cardiology at North Carolina State University talks about three things veterinarians should know about heartworm preventive resistance.

Atkins recently completed a study looking at heartworm infection epidemiology in the Mississippi River Delta region. He and his team investigated increased reports of lack of efficacy (LOE) of heartworm preventives in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Atkins was quick to point out that the current research does not point to any particular product as being more or less effective than another, and he also pointed out that he is not saying there is no such thing as resistance to preventives. However, he does suggest that compliance could play a major part in the perception of lack of efficacy of heartworm preventives.

After checking out this video, log on to the AAHA website to view an archived webcast on more of Atkins’ findings. The webcast discusses increasing reports of macrocyclic lactone lack of efficacy in the Mississippi River Delta region and the current thinking on resistance in this region. Click here to view: "Current Controversies and Dilemmas in Heartworm Disease: Defining the Issues by Close Examination."