Driven by the underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats, the American Heartworm Society outlined four main reasons for recommending routine heartworm screening in cats: aiding diagnosis in symptomatic cats monitoring heartworm-positive cases establishing baselines before preventive treatment assessing heartworm risk in specific … [Read more...]
Heartworm fact sheet urges pet owners to Think 12
A convenient fact sheet from the American Heartworm Society urges pet owners to test annually for heartworm and commit to year-round heartworm prevention. The document is suitable for social media and newsletters. Heartworm preventative compliance remains challenging and requires routine reinforcement of the reasons and benefits. Source: Think 12, American Heartworm Society. … [Read more...]
American Heartworm Society updates heartworm guidelines
After thoroughly reviewing the latest research, the American Heartworm Society has updated its canine heartworm guidelines on heartworm prevention, diagnosis and treatment AND added a new section with "spectrum of care" information. Source: American Heartworm Society. Link. Download the summary here <Link>. AHS recommends annual antigen and microfilaria testing as well … [Read more...]
Yes to testing! Yes to preventatives!
Commentary Resources from the American Heartworm Society include a waiver for when a client declines heartworm testing and heartworm prevention. Use this AHS form to educate clients when they won't choose prevention. Whether they sign or not, it provides an opportunity to educate them on how important heartworm prevention really is! And it is a role most veterinary … [Read more...]
If we don’t keep reminding, educating – WHO will?
Commentary The American Heartworm Society routinely provides images like these on X, Instagram and Facebook. The amount of likes and forwards of the posts does not reflect the number of followers, nor how many animal health pros there are. It’s our job to keep the educational efforts of AHS in front of pet owners. The posts are easy to forward and can be copied for all … [Read more...]
Combatting lack of adherence to heartworm preventatives
Animal health pros need to share images like this one over and over. We recently featured disturbing data on noncompliance <Link> and called for more realistic imagery in that post. Kudos to AHS for this image of heartworm. What will you do with it? Source: American Heartworm Society, X, January 18, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
AHS resource for heartworm prevention
Animal health pros need to keep beating the drums about preventing heartworm. Prevention nonadherence remains prevalent in the U.S. The incidence of heartworm disease has continued to rise in previously known hot spots, but also in unexpected locations with previously low heartworm rates <Link>. Short articles like this one from the American Heartworm Society make good … [Read more...]
Heartworm Society: a million pets infected annually, many go undiagnosed (infographic)
Heartworm preventative compliance remains a significant issue as we shared last week <Link>. An informative infographic from the American Heartworm Society shares alarming metrics and depicts the failures of pet owners to protect their dogs and cats. Source: American Heartworm Society, X (Twitter), November 3, 2023. Link. INSIGHTS: At this writing, there are ONLY … [Read more...]
Texas study finds alarming rate of heartworm in cats
A study conducted in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of Texas revealed the prevalence of D. immitis infection in shelter cats. The study analyzed 122 paired samples of serum and DNA from cats in 14 towns within the region to detect the presence of heartworm infection. Using multiple analysis tools the results were alarming: 18 percent of the shelter cats tested … [Read more...]
Feline heartworm experience creates DVM advocate (video)
Experience is an influential teacher. Ellen Bishai, DVM, PhD, shares the story of her cat's ordeal with heartworm disease and the resulting commitment to feline heartworm preventatives. For me, if there is a preventative I can do that's not going to hurt the pet...I don't see any reason not to do it." - Ellen Bishai, DVM, PhD Source: DVM 360, March 31,2022. Link. The way our … [Read more...]
April is heartworm awareness month
Heartworms are in every U.S. state and other countries. In fact, heartworm disease is on the rise throughout the U.S. and areas that were once non-endemic. The American Heartworm Society offers multiple resources for veterinarians and pet owners at heartwormsociety.org. They include: Heartworm incidence map: updated every three years to highlight the average number of … [Read more...]