Analyzing heartworm surveillance

Jenifer Sheehy, DVM, BCPA, medical lead, canine parasiticides at Zoetis, presented recent research on heartworm surveillance at the 2025 Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX), hosted by the North American Veterinary Community. She also discussed research insights from a new study in an interview with dvm360.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Jenifer Sheehy, DVM, BCPA: With changes in micro climates, natural disasters, and dogs and cats being transported widely, we hope that more practices will be willing to participate in the future surveillance studies, not only for heartworm, but also for ticks and other vector borne diseases.

The biggest takeaway for us is that resistance is spreading geographically. The study found that resistant markers were as far north as Michigan, as far east as New Jersey, as far west as Kansas, and everywhere in between. So resistant isolates have now been identified quite a far distance from the Lower Mississippi River Valley, and in regions with endemic heartworm, every unprotected dog becomes a potential reservoir for resistance.

I think it's really, really important that we all start to think of ourselves as shepherds for surveillance. This is a great opportunity for us to participate in the lessons that we can learn and in the information that we can share with each other.