School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA.
Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Jul 30;12(1):380. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3633-2.
Canine heartworm disease is a potentially fatal disease for which treatment is financially burdensome for many pet owners. Prevention is strongly advocated by the veterinary community along with routine testing for infection during annual wellness examinations. Despite the availability of efficacious chemoprophylaxis, recent reports have suggested that the incidence of heartworm disease in domestic dogs is increasing.
Using data from tests for heartworm infection in the USA from January 2012 through September 2018, a Bayesian spatio-temporal binomial regression model was used to estimate the regional and local temporal trends of heartworm infection prevalence. The area with the largest increase in regional prevalence was found in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Regional prevalence increased throughout the southeastern states and northward into Illinois and Indiana. Local (county-level) prevalence varied across the USA, with increasing prevalence occurring along most of the Atlantic coast, central United States, and western states. Clusters of decreasing prevalence were present along the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (a historically endemic area), Oklahoma and Kansas, and Florida.
Canine heartworm infection prevalence is increasing in much of the USA, both regionally and locally, despite veterinarian recommendations on prevention and testing. Additional steps should be taken to protect dogs, cats and ferrets. Further work is needed to identify the driving factors of the locally decreasing prevalence present along the Mississippi Alluvial plain, Florida, and other areas.
犬心丝虫病是一种潜在致命的疾病，对许多宠物主人来说，治疗费用负担沉重。兽医界强烈提倡预防，并在年度健康检查中常规检测感染情况。尽管有有效的化学预防措施，但最近的报告表明，家犬中心丝虫病的发病率正在上升。
利用 2012 年 1 月至 2018 年 9 月美国心丝虫感染检测数据，采用贝叶斯时空二项式回归模型估计了心丝虫感染流行率的区域和局部时间趋势。区域流行率增加最大的地区是密西西比河下游流域。东南部各州以及伊利诺伊州和印第安纳州的流行率逐渐上升。美国各地的局部（县一级）流行率各不相同，大西洋沿岸、美国中部和西部各州的流行率呈上升趋势。密西西比冲积平原（历史流行区）、俄克拉荷马州和堪萨斯州以及佛罗里达州存在流行率下降的聚集区。
尽管兽医建议预防和检测，但犬心丝虫感染流行率在美国大部分地区呈上升趋势，无论是区域还是局部。应采取额外措施来保护狗、猫和雪貂。需要进一步努力确定密西西比冲积平原、佛罗里达州和其他地区流行率下降的驱动因素。
