HW Stats in Canada

[groupieindenial]

I went on the U of G website looking up the Ontario Veterinary College, to see if I can get a cardiologist to check out my pups supposed heart murmur, and found this intersting stats on HW in Canada. Very interesting, cuz I've had numerous conversations with several pet owners about the "should you" have your dogs on HW meds. I think you should and I think these stats (a few years old, and not complete), should prove for some concern in owners who don't think they need their dogs on HW, just cuz their vet says they don't have to. (Vets need to make a living somehow). Brantford alone had 26, and thats just minutes away from me.

http://www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/PathoBio/...HEARTWORM.html

[Judi W]

It isn't that the vets are trying to make money (they make more selling the monthly meds over the lifetime of a dog). It is that they are not checking for heartworm and thus don't think it is present in their area. Of course, if you don't look, you won't find it.

[Sue]

We do a biannual HW survey of all the practices in the state. What we've found is that HWD is actually on the rise here. The actual percentage of positive cases vs dogs tested is small, but the percentage increase is quite significant. Every time I'm summarizing the data I want to call some vets and scream at them. One of the questions we ask is whether or not they feel HWD disease is endemic in their area. If they've never seen HWD in their practice, some will answer no. They simply don't think it's a problem because they've never seen it.

Anyone who doesn't think it's a problem should have been around helping treat positive dogs about 20 years ago. It was a horrible thing for the dogs to go through. Or take a look at one of the display hearts we have from a positive dog that didn't make it. Seeing all the chambers of the heart filled with what looks like spaghetti might change their mind. It makes me so angry that people won't spend the money to keep their dogs safe. With three large dogs I know it's not cheap.....but neither is the treatment of a positive dog, not to mention what the dog goes through.

[groupieindenial]

Yeah, number in studies are not accurate, but give an indication of what is happening. How much info is omitted due to lack of information, incorrect info, and like you said, the percentage of tested dogs is very small since vets do not see it as an epidemic. How many dogs have passedon without a conclusion to their deaths. Owners do not spend the $ to do tests to see why, and thus goes into a pile of unrecorded stats. AM I wrong? I just see in recent years the increase in mosquito born/spread diseases. I feel that West Nile will be something that we, and our pets will eventually have to be vaccinated for. Ofcourse they don't tell us how dangerous WN is, because they don't want to put fear into the public.

[Squeaky2004]

Squeak is on HW meds for that reason...it is well known in Canada whether people want to see that or not. I will continue to do the heartworm meds through the warmer months every year for the rest of her life, also getting tested every year for them. Great info though groupie thanks for posting it