AHS Heartworm Hotline

The 2019 AHS Heartworm Incidence Survey shows that heartworms maintain a stubborn hold in the United States.

The triennial Heartworm Incidence Survey from the American Heartworm Society shares a mix of both bad and good news.

Heartworm disease prevalence, pathology, and management protocols headlined the 16th American Heartworm Society (AHS) Triennial Symposium, held September 8-11, 2019, in New Orleans. Given the challenges heartworm disease continues to present to the veterinary profession, discovering new strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment is vital to reducing its impact.

The Heartworm Hotline column, presented by the American Heartworm Society, communicates practical and timely information on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heartworm disease, as well as highlights current topics related to heartworm research and findings in veterinary medicine.

Although most veterinarians recognize that feline heartworm disease can be serious and even life-threatening, far too few clients invest in heartworm prevention for their cats.

Clients often don’t understand what heartworms are—nor do they understand the consequences of infection in their pets. We must stress prevention.

The Heartworm Hotline column is presented in partnership between Today’s Veterinary Practice and the American Heartworm Society (heartwormsociety.org). The goal of the column is to communicate practical and timely information on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heartworm disease, as well as highlight current topics related to heartworm research and findings in veterinary medicine. Heartworm disease …

When explaining the benefits of heartworm preventives, the key message to stress is that failing to give heartworm preventives can result in heartworm infection, a potentially deadly disease.

To help veterinarians balance their dual role of protecting individual animal health and welfare as well as that of animal populations, the AHS and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians have formulated evidence-based best practices for minimizing transmission of heartworms in relocated dogs.

Andy Moorhead, DVM, MS, PhD University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine The Heartworm Hotline column is presented in partnership between Today’s Veterinary Practice and the American Heartworm Society (heartwormsociety.org). The goal of the column is to communicate practical and timely information on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heartworm disease, as well as highlight current …