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Today's VeTerinary PracTice | July/august 2015 | tvpjournal.com aHs HearTWorM HoTLine Peer reviewed 80 Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) have been popular pets in the U.s. for decades. They have been domesticated since 4 Bc, and have been used in a working capacity to wire american aircraft during World War ii, connect wires for computers at the Peterson air Force Base missile warning center, and clean 300-foot pipes in the Meson Laboratory (national accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, illinois). 1 Ferrets are often housed in pairs or multiples, and it is common knowledge among ferret owners that ferrets should be vaccinated with rabies and distemper vaccines. However, not all ferret owners are aware that ferrets are also highly susceptible to heartworm infection. 2-5 DISEASE OVERVIEW in ferrets, heartworm disease (HWd) is caused by Diroflaria immitis and is transmitted by mosquitoes—the same way that HWd infects cats and dogs (Figure). While earlier literature hypothesized that HWd in ferrets was similar to the disease in cats, the disease actually bears an interesting mix of similarities to both canine and feline disease (Table 1). 3,4,6 studies have shown ferrets to be highly susceptible to heartworm infection, with worm recovery rates similar to those of dogs, 2,7 while microflaremia appears to be transient and of low concentrations, as in cats. DIAGNOSIS Work is needed to better understand the most accurate and reliable protocol for heartworm diagnosis in ferrets. To date, substantive studies comparing the effcacy and accuracy of screening diagnosis, Treatment, & Prevention of Heartworm Disease in Ferrets Bianca Zaffarano, DVM Iowa State University The Heartworm Hotline column is presented in partnership between Today's Veterinary Practice and the american Heartworm society (heartwormsociety.org). The goal of the column is to communicate practical and timely information on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heartworm disease, as well as highlight current topics related to heartworm research and fndings in veterinary medicine. Table 1. Ferret Heartworm Disease: Factors shared with Canine & Feline Heartworm Disease Fa Ctors s imilarities: Canine H wD s imilarities: Feline H wD Susceptibility & presence of microflaria Highly susceptible to HWD Microflaria are transient Diagnosis Antigen test appears accurate Infection can be challenging to diagnose Worm numbers Ferret Diroflaria burdens of up to 14 worms have been recovered A single worm can cause serious disease due to small size of heart and lungs Treatment Use of melarsomine decreases burdens of adult heartworms but can result in worsened cardiac and respiratory signs and mortality rates (therefore, melarsom- ine is not recommended) No FDA-approved treatment and use of melarsomine is not recommended; surgical removal of heartworms may be possible in certain animals Prevention Prevention is safe and effective Prevention is safe and effective