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In the News

The American Heartworm Society is the leading resource on heartworm disease, and our mission is to lead the veterinary profession and the public in the understanding of this serious disease. Every year, hundreds of stories are written on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of heartworm, as well as on the plight of affected pets. These stories are an important way of reaching both veterinary professionals and pet owners with information they need to know about heartworm disease.

The American Heartworm Society is led by a board of directors comprised of veterinarians and specialists in the fields of veterinary parasitology and internalmedicine. As leaders in the fight against heartworm disease, they are available as resources and authors of related stories.

Members of the media are encouraged to contact the American Heartworm Society for information, visuals and interviews about heartworm disease. Please contact Sue O’Brien at Obriensuek@gmail.com. This email is for media inquiries only. All other inquiries, please email: info@heartwormsociety.org.

 


 

News & Alerts

Laying the groundwork for a canine heartworm vaccine

U.K. researchers are looking to determine whether the proteins that allow filarial parasites to establish infections will have similar protective effects in dogs.

Prevention has always been key to fighting heartworm disease in dogs, but few preventive drug options are available and resistance to available medications continues to grow. But a new study by Morris Animal Foundation–funded researchers at the University of Liverpool may unlock the solution veterinarians and pet owners need.

The other heartworm patient

Brian Calabro, DVM

When it comes to heartworms, cats may be overlooked but they’re certainly not immune. Here’s what you need to know about feline heartworm disease.

As summer arrives and temperatures rise, conversations and quarterly promotions in veterinary clinics shift once again to preventing a difficult and deadly disease. And while dog owners are usually familiar with heartworm disease and the importance of prevention, cat owners may be unaware that the disease can affect their pet at all.

The promise of heartworm prevention: An expert Q&A

Heartworm disease prevention and annual testing are a must for dogs and cats across the United States, says Dr. Stephen Jones. Here’s why.

Stephen Jones, DVM, knows a thing or two about heartworms. A general practitioner and partner at Lakeside Animal Hospital in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Dr. Jones has treated thousands of heartworm infections in pets over the years and served on the board of the American Heartworm Society for more than a decade.

During a lecture at the 2020 Western Veterinary Conference, Dr. Jones noted that despite the fact that Dirofilaria immitis is increasingly found in both endemic and non-endemic areas across the U.S., questions remain about the need for heartworm disease prevention. He set out to answer those questions.

Feline heartworm disease: A diagnostic dilemma

When using antigen and antibody tests, veterinarians need to be aware of their shortcomings

By Tom Nelson, DVM

Heartworm disease is an elusive diagnosis in feline patients. As such, a thorough understanding of the pathogenesis of feline heartworm disease (FHWD) is needed to interpret test results.

How heartworm disease differs in cats and dogs

Cats become infected with heartworms in much the same way as dogs. However, while cats are susceptible hosts, they differ significantly from dogs in the number of infective heartworm larvae that survive to adulthood.

American Heartworm Society Recommendations during COVID-19

Posted by  in Animal SafetyBlogPet Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

American Heartworm Society provides guidance on heartworm protocols during COVID-19 crisis

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE—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.

American Heartworm Society provides new guidance on heartworm protocols during the pandemic

While telemedicine is proving a lifeline for many hospitals during the current crisis, it doesn’t allow for routine heartworm testing and the administration of certain medications.

To address these issues, the American Heartworm Society (AHS) issued new recommendations to help hospitals and shelters better manage heartworm treatment at a time when many have cancelled routine wellness visits, or, worse, closed their doors for the short term.

NEWStat reached out to American Heartworm Society President Chris Duke, DVM, to find out more about the recommendations.

AHS has published recommendations for how animal health professionals can continue to protect pets from heartworms

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).

AHS Guidelines for Testing, Prevention and Treatment of Heartworm Disease During the COVID-19 Crisis

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)

American Heartworm Society provides guidance on heartworm protocols during COVID-19 crisis

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.

A Selective Summary of the 2019 Triennial Heartworm Symposium

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.

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The colors are changing but your clients’ heartworm prevention programs shouldn’t. To help spice up your client outreach programs this fall, the AHS has created a new set of posters you can print or post on your social pages.

To keep this message front and center with your clients, we’re sharing a set of new posters you can print OR post on your Facebook or Instagram page.

  • To save or print a poster, just click on the image below, then click on the “download” button and save the PDF file.
  • To save a poster for use on your social pages, simply open the downloaded poster, then right click on the file and follow the menu instructions to save the file as a JPEG image.

For more client tools, be sure to visit the Resource Center. And if you don’t already, make sure you’re sharing our Facebook and Instagram posts!