Drug-resistant heartworm strain found in Louisiana LabradorDecember 12, 2017A drug-resistant strain of heartworm was discovered in a dog in Metairie, La., according to local veterinarian, Cynthia Benbow, DVM, CVA. Maddie, a yellow lab from Metairie, was a patient of Dr. Benbow. According to the news release issued by Benbow's office, Maddie contracted heartworm while on a monthly preventive. The heartworms had resurfaced in Benbow's long-time patient after a bout three years prior even though Maddie's owner had, as Benbow described, "religiously" stuck with the prescribed prevention regimen. Testing revealed the dog was infected with a drug-resistant strain of heartworm. A sample of Maddie's blood was sent to Ray Kaplan, DVM, at the Department of Infectious Diseases at University of Georgia (UGA) College of Veterinary Medicine, according to Benbow. Dr. Kaplan's lab confirmed that the heartworms were indeed drug-resistant, and established the strain for research purposes, naming it Metairie-2014. Louisiana hosts "by far the most cases" of suspected drug-resistant heartworm strains, according to Cassan Pulaski, a doctoral candidate at Louisiana State University (LSU). Southern states show higher incidences of likely drug-resistant strains, particularly those surrounding the Mississippi River Delta, he said. It's unknown how many drug-resistant heartworm strains exist because local veterinarians do not have the research tools to verify resistant strains, according to …
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