Interpreting Heartworm Tests: What you see is not always what you have

摘要

Interpreting the results of the annual heartworm test is not as simple as, "If it's positive, the dog is infected; if it's negative, the dog is not infected," experts say. Several issues—the life cycle of the heartworm, when an animal is bitten by aninfected mosquito, whether there were any gaps in administering the preventive product, and the prevalence of heartworm in the area—come into play when interpreting the heartworm tests. Dirofilaria immitis, the heartworm, is normally diagnosed in dogsby a variety of immunoassays that detect specific antigens secreted into the blood by the adult female heartworm. These tests are available as both in-clinic or outside laboratory tests.