Conditions under which a veterinarian can delay annual heartworm tests during the COVID crisis is just one of the topics covered in new recommendations released by the American Heartworm Society (AHS).

Heartworm management is a cornerstone of pet health care, but the need to reduce the risk of the COVID-19 virus has led to changes in how veterinary visits are conducted. Here’s the latest recommendations for veterinarians from the American Heartworm Society.

Updated COVID-19 AHS recommendations (October 2020)

COVID-19 AHS recommendations (April 2020)

The COVID-19 crisis has created unprecedented disruptions in veterinary practices and animal shelters, making it challenging for many professionals to deliver wellness care, as well as certain medical treatments, to patients.

As veterinary practices and animal shelters strive to provide the best possible care for their patients, questions frequently arise about heartworm prevention, testing and treatment.

Marisa Ames
DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology)

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 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.

An unprecedented 62 speakers and poster presenters were featured in the symposium, focusing on topics that included:

• Heartworm vectors and transmission
• Heartworm prevention
• Heartworm pathology
• Heartworm diagnosis
• Wolbachia and heartworm treatment protocols
• Following are brief, question-and-answer summaries of presentations on these topics at the 2019 symposium.

These abstracts were published in the proceedings of the 16th Triennial Symposium: Understanding Heartworm Disease: From Science to Solutions, available to American Heartworm Society members at heartwormsociety.org/proceedings-archive. Several abstracts have been published (see Published Abstracts). Many of these abstracts will appear in an upcoming special edition of Parasites and Vectors.

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.

Every three years, the American Heartworm Society (AHS) releases new data on the incidence of the parasite’s dreaded disease in pets. And right now is when the organization is asking for your help to get the best sample size to analyze.

Veterinarians now have the opportunity to submit their clinics’ data for the 2019 AHS Heartworm Incidence Survey. Options include filling out a printed survey that was mailed to veterinarians in late January (the completed survey can be scanned and emailed to the AHS) or simply completing the survey at heartwormsociety.org/2019survey. The deadline to submit survey data is Feb. 29, 2020.

When the going gets tough, stick to the basics of good communication and kindness to help improve the bond between you and those difficult clients.

By Shana Bohac, DVM

Have you ever walked out of an exam room and wanted to bang your head against a wall? (Hand raise, right here!). Stubborn clients, whiners, complainers and those who think they know more than you are by among the most frustrating issues veterinary teams deal with on a daily basis. Can I get an amen?

But know this: You will never make everyone happy. I repeat, you will never make everyone happy. (I’m repeating this for myself, too!)

Persuading clients to purchase a 12-month supply of preventives gets easier if you explain the benefits well and price your products competitively.

The recent rains and storms can give rise to a big surge in the mosquito population that could result in a big threat to our pets: heartworm infection. Heartworms are the common name of Dirofilaria immitis, 12-inch long worms that dwell inside the heart chambers and lungs of affected animals. Although the disease is most prevalent in the hot southeastern parts of the U.S., there have been cases all the way north of the Great Lakes. An incidence map denoting the areas where this infection is most prevalent can be seen at https://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/incidence-maps. Unsurprisingly, Florida is heartworm heaven and there’s a widespread infection that includes not just dogs as victims but cats, foxes, coyotes, ferrets, and other mammals.

Having a solid understanding of the heartworm life cycle—and the damage this disease can do—is the first step in getting pet owners on the right track with treatment.