Oh, that's disturbing
I think we're going to have to rethink our HW protocol. We stopped using Heartgard a while back because it didn't prevent them picking up other worms from the environment. We currently use a slightly higher dose of 1% ivermectin that prevents both the heartworms
and the other worms. Maybe we'll go back to the low dose Heartgard with only a yearly or twice-yearly dose of the ivermectin to take care of the parasite load...at least until researchers can sort out cause-and-effect and make recommendations for alternative meds.
Thanks for posting the link, DOG! Hugs and pats for Mollie