American Heartworm Society also announces new officers, board members

NEW ORLEANS (September 22, 2016) — Changes in climate, heartworm vectors, diagnostic challenges, prevention practices and treatment protocols all were cited during during the 2016 American Heartworm Society (AHS) Triennial Symposium as reasons why the persistence of heartworm disease continues to confound veterinarians, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.

SAN ANTONIO - Veterinarians call it a silent killer and in San Antonio the chances of a pet being infected with heartworms is higher than most places around the country.

"Probably about 90 percent of our stray dogs in San Antonio are probably infected with heartworms," veterinary technician Crystal Tarr said.

Dr. Johns,

My poodle is on Trifexis. What is the logic behind requiring a blood test once a year before selling me this med?

I can buy a six months supply after the test and go back in six months and get six more months but after that they require another blood test to be sure that he does not have heart worms!

AHS announces the hottest topics on tap for the 15th Triennial Heartworm Symposium scheduled for September in New Orleans.

Let’s start with the good news: Not all mosquitoes bite. “Female mosquitos need certain proteins found in blood to grow their eggs,” says Joseph Conlon, technical advisor, American Mosquito Control Association. Since males don’t produce eggs, they don’t bite.

Here’s a brief look at the diseases that some types of mosquitos can spread in some parts of the world.

ZIKA

Who is affected Specific numbers are hard to come by, but cases have been reported in more than 36 countries in South America, Mexico, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean since last spring. As of mid-May, 544 people living in the U.S. have acquired Zika by traveling to an affected area.

ANIMAL WATCH-Heartworm disease is a serious infection that results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death in pets--mainly dogs--but also cats, coyotes, ferrets, wolves, sea lions, seals and other animals. And, occasionally it infects humans. The worms mature into adults, mate, and produce offspring while living inside the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of an infected animal.

Even areas with fewer mosquitos can be hotbeds of heartworm infection.

Q. We don’t see a lot of mosquitoes in my practice area. Is it really necessary to push prevention?
A. Veterinarians often refer to their locales as being “endemic” or “nonendemic” for heartworm. For those in many of the Western and Mountain states, the assumption is that if heartworm historically hasn’t been a problem in the region, there’s no reason to recommend yearly testing or heartworm prevention now. I moved to Phoenix—which is in a supposedly nonendemic region less than 18 months ago. During that time, I’ve performed several surgeries for heartworm caval syndrome on dogs that had never left the Phoenix area.

While heartworm education is a year-round focus of the American Heartworm Society (AHS), many veterinary practices put extra emphasis on heartworm prevention and education in the spring, especially since April is National Heartworm Awareness Month. Therefore, it’s a good time to consider the many resources available to veterinary practices from the AHS.

It happens. It happens a lot. Here are your best practices when a lapse in heartworm preventive delivery occurs.