Heartworm Disease Resources

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) and American Heartworm Society (AHS) have joined forces to discuss the prevention, treatment, and management of heartworm disease in animal shelters. As a starting point, a survey was conducted in 2014 to characterize practices in Heartworm Disease Management in North American Shelters.

In 2019, AHS and ASV conducted the Shelter Heartworm Management Practices Survey with the primary goal of identifying the current practices employed for the prevention, diagnosis and management of heartworm disease in animal shelters. The outcomes of this survey were presented at the 2019 AHS Triennial Symposium with the abstract published here

Rehoming. A move. Accompanying an owner on a trip. Such situations can mean that dogs diagnosed with heartworms must travel. The American Heartworm Society and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians recently released joint transport recommendations designed to safeguard the health of infected dogs while ensuring they do not become vectors for heartworm transmission. Click here to download PDF.

The latest outcome of the collaboration was presented at the 2022 AHS Triennial Symposium and is an algorithm for Decision-Making Considerations for Heartworm Management in Shelter Dogs.

AHS and ASV have produced a series of educations brochures for distribution to adopters. 

Available Now (click and download)