I can’t think of a better time to talk about heartworm with Valentine’s Day right around the corner. Veterinarians have no love for the heartworm. Neither do we and we need your help!
According to the American Heartworm Society (AHS), more than a million pets in the U.S. have heartworms, despite the disease being preventable. Washington State citizens adopt thousands of rescue dogs and cats every year some with international origins and many with origins in the Southern U.S., where heartworm is common.
This AHS 2019 map suggests that heartworm has been detected in every state across the country. However, that doesn’t mean the disease is universally endemic in all 50 states. Washington is one of the few states in the U.S. where Heartworm disease is not considered an endemic disease. WSDA maintains import rules to try to prevent the permanent establishment of the disease in vulnerable vectors and companion animals alike.
For many years, the State Vet’s Office has been tracking trends of the disease in our state. Almost every positive case we have followed up on includes a travel history out of Washington and/or can be attributed to an adoption through a rescue. Many of these dog adopters are completely unaware of the positive status of the dog they adopt and are confronted with expensive veterinary bills when the dog becomes clinically ill.
Despite both international and interstate import or movement rules for companion animals, illegal importation continues to be a problem. In fact, CDC banned the import of dogs from 113 countries after a rise in falsified rabies records was documented in 2020. The State Vet’s office has no regulatory authority over, nor does it license rescues, breeding operations or pet stores, making it challenging for WSDA to really understand the scope of illegal importation. Falsified rabies certificates, Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and heartworm testing records are an ongoing problem.
To help mitigate risk to our State’s companion animals, WSDA is proposing clearer language in our import rules that would require a negative antigen test prior to import and would remove all exemptions. Unfortunately, the current rule allows for a loose interpretation and many heartworm-positive dogs are still “legally” being imported. This undermines our attempt to keep it out.
The State Veterinarian recommends that veterinarians in our State consider annual testing of dogs, especially those dogs with travel history, an adoption history or with new pet ownership. Routine preventative may not be required, but robust surveillance is critical to monitor trends over time and track whether our efforts to prevent endemic establishment has been successful. Don’t forget to be RAD and report all heartworm cases on our Reportable Animal Disease (RAD) platform. Trends in the last few years show a decline in cases, but we can’t be sure whether that trend is related to a decrease in disease, a decrease in testing, or a decrease in reporting. We need your help to test for and report cases of heartworm so we can better inform you of these trends over time. We need to get tough on heartworm and show no love now, so we don’t have to learn to live with it in the future.
Handouts for your clients: What to Know When Rescuing a Pet in Washington State
For more information on pet diseases and reporting, visit our website: Pets | Washington State Department of Agriculture
For more information on heartworm and treatment, please visit the American Heartworm Society.
By Dr. Amber Itle, WSDA Interim State Veterinarian
Posted February 11, 2022