Abstract
In late December 1984, 1853 institutional veterinarians and small and mixed animal clinics across Canada were sent a questionnaire in order to assess the status of Dirofilaria immitis in Canada in 1984 and 35% of them responded. Veterinarians reported that 97,794 dogs were blood-tested to check for microfilariae and 1417 dogs (1.45% of those tested) were found with heartworm. Another 34 dogs were amicrofilaremic, but were diagnosed as having heartworm disease, to give the total number diagnosed in 1984 as 1451 (1.48%). Heartworm was reported from all provinces except Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland but most (1310) of the cases were in Ontario. In Quebec, 126 cases were reported mostly from west of Montreal.
Heartworm was found most frequently in companion dogs over three years of age maintained mainly outdoors in rural areas. About 27% of the cases were observed with clinical signs of heartworm disease and 72% had a history of not having left Canada. Southwestern Ontario continued to be the primary focus of the infection.
Keywords: Dirofilaria immitis, heartworm, dogs, prevalence, Canada
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Selected References
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