It's time to declare open season on intestinal parasites

7 May 2008
Millsboro, Delaware

It's time to declare open season on intestinal parasites

Prominent veterinarian warns fellow hunting dog owners
about an unseen threat to their dogs’ health and performance

Hunting dog owners go to great lengths to keep their dogs healthy and performing at their peak. Yet they are often unaware of a hidden threat to their dog’s health and performance – a threat that is easily preventable, according to Dr. Kyle Kerstetter, a practicing veterinarian and a Diplomate of
the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

An avid hunter and experienced retriever owner/trainer, Dr. Kerstetter offers sound, down-to-earth advice to fellow hunting dog owners in a newly-released educational video called “Straight talk about intestinal worms... and how they can affect your hunting dog’s performance.”

“Hunting dogs, who spend time in kennels, training/testing areas and fields, may be exposed to intestinal worm eggs and larvae through contact with fecal matter,” explains Dr. Kerstetter.” Rodents and small wildlife can also act as intermediate hosts for some parasites, providing another
potential source of transmission.”

A serious health threat

Although worm infections don’t always cause symptoms in adult dogs, they can lead to serious health problems, and damage the intestines, as well as other organs. At the very least, they interfere with dogs’ absorption of nutrients, robbing them of their energy and vigor... all of which has a direct
impact on their performance in the field.

As if that weren’t enough, some of the intestinal worms that affect dogs can also infect humans (what is referred to as “zoonosis”).

How can intestinal worm infections be prevented?

According to Dr. Kerstetter, “the best way to keep parasites at bay is by maintaining good hygiene and by implementing a preventative deworming program.”

”Many dog owners don’t realize that, while some monthly heartworm prevention products also control other parasites, they are not effective against all major types of canine intestinal worms,” adds Dr. Kerstetter. “That’s why I recommend regular deworming with a broad-spectrum product
that effectively eliminates and controls the major intestinal worms that infect dogs.”

Safe-Guard® (fenbendazole) Canine Dewormer is one such product. Sprinkled over a dog’s food for three consecutive days twice a year, it provides protection against roundworms (Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina), hookworms (Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinaria stenocephala), tapeworms
(Taenia pisiformis) and whipworms (Taenia pisiformis).

Safe-Guard® Canine Dewormer can safely* be administered to dogs of all breeds, as well as to puppies, pregnant females and older dogs.

And, since it has no known interactions with other medications, Safe-Guard® is, as Dr. Kerstetter would say, “an ideal complement to monthly heartworm prevention products, for more complete protection.”

As an added convenience, this do-it-yourself dog dewormer is available in many pet, feed and hunting retail outlets.

Educational DVD

Dr. Kerstetter’s exclusive interview is featured in “Straight talk about intestinal worms... and how they can affect your hunting dog’s performance,” an educational DVD that is available free of charge to media, retailers, hunting clubs and associations, breeders and trainers.

Segments of the video can be viewed online in the hunting-specific section of the Safe-Guard® Web site (www.Safe-Guard.com), which also provides information and tips for hunting dog owners and trainers.

Information: Jacinthe Moreau
Intervet Inc.
Tel.: (302) 934-4427
Email: jacinthe.moreau@intervet.com

* Approximately 1% of dogs had vomiting associated with the use of the product.

Schering-Plough is an innovation-driven, science-centered global health care company. Through its own biopharmaceutical research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough creates therapies that help save and improve lives around the world. The company applies its research and development platform to human prescription and consumer products, as well as to animal health products. In November 2007, Schering-Plough acquired Organon BioSciences, with its Organon human health and Intervet animal health businesses, marking a pivotal step in the company’s ongoing transformation. Schering-Plough’s vision is to “Earn Trust, Every Day” with the doctors, patients, customers and other stakeholders served by its approximately
50,000 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its Web site is www.Schering-Plough.com.

Intervet is a leader in research, and is dedicated to the development, production and marketing of innovative, high-quality animal health products, such as Safe-Guard® dewormer, Vetsulin®, Leventa®, and Continuum® vaccines. For more information, visit the following Web sites: www.Intervetusa.com and www.Safe-Guard.com.

Intervet Inc.