Veterinarians in Colorado should no longer base heartworm testing and prevention recommendations on only historic heartworm risks and prevalence. Heartworm prevalence in Colorado rose 67.5% from 2013–2017. Veterinarians and pet owners in areas with historically low heartworm prevalence should reevaluate the increasing risks posed by heartworms and should follow the testing and prevention guidelines provided by organizations like the American Heartworm Society and the Companion Animal Parasite Council [26, 30]. While animal shelters and other animal welfare organizations provide important rescue and relocation services, relocated dogs may be introducing higher risks of parasitic diseases. Repeated heartworm testing and movement restrictions should be considered for dogs originating from states with a high prevalence of D. immitis in order to reduce the spread of parasitic diseases. Imported dogs initially testing negative for the presence of adult heartworms should be re-tested six months later as antigen tests are not reliable at detecting immature infections. Further research regarding the heartworm status of imported dogs could help confirm the association of increasing heartworm prevalence and dog importation.
https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-019-3473-0#Comments excerpt above
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