Mitigating heartworm disease in communities

The American Heartworm Society (AHS) recently released an updated map of heartworm incidence in the US, along with results of the organization’s triennial survey of veterinary practices around the country. In an interview with dvm360, Marisa Ames, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology), president of the AHS and an associate professor of cardiology at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, discussed the survey results, shifting hot spots, and prevention methods.

In this video, Ames discussed how veterinary teams can help reduce the transmission of heartworm infestation by using strategies that extend beyond their clinical settings and patients. The following is a transcript of the video:

dvm360: What can veterinary teams do to help mitigate heartworm disease in their communities?

Marisa Ames, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology): We think of the prevention that we give to our pets. The dogs that we see in clinics are the lucky ones that get medical care, protecting them thoroughly. So year-round prevention is really helpful to reduce spread to those at-risk dogs, stray dogs, dogs that are owned but don't see a veterinarian frequently, and, of course, wild canids. Those are the at-risk dogs, and that's where heartworms establish a sort of refuge, maintain a population, and…increase the incidence in an area. So really, [adherence] matters.

[Among the surveyed] veterinarians, there is strong agreement that dogs should be receiving year-round prevention. That is the best plan for heartworm prevention, but they cite [adherence as] an issue. And there are many reasons that go into why an owner may not be able to purchase the prevention or consistently [seek] prevention. So…there are helpful resources specifically for folks [who] do work in a shelter situation. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians and the [AHS]—on both websites—have resources specifically regarding how to manage that at-risk population of shelter animals and how to prevent [transmission] if we're moving those animals around the country. What can we do as they move, say, from the Gulf Coast or Southeast? And say that animal is moving north to another shelter or another rescue…. Even if they are infected and…you can't necessarily treat them at your shelter, there are ways to help mitigate their risk. If they have to move with infection, [we] of course, can do our small part.

Of course, we have amazing entomologists working in states and counties, trying to mitigate mosquito risk for many reasons. As just pet owners, we can try to do our best and mitigate [the] risk of mosquitoes in our own backyards…being careful about the standing water and making sure there's no good mosquito habitat.

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