This page quotes a published document. Everything below in quotation marks is copied word for word from https://capcvet.org/guidelines/angiostrongylus-vasorum/, published by CAPC and retrieved on 2026-09-16. The quotations are excerpts; the document itself is linked and is the authority. Nothing has been reworded.
This page quotes the Companion Animal Parasite Council guideline for Angiostrongylus vasorum, section by section: the opening sentences of 8 sections, copied without change and linked to the guideline, which was retrieved on 2026-09-16. The guideline itself is the authority and carries the full text.
The guideline
Companion Animal Parasite Council, Angiostrongylus vasorum, at https://capcvet.org/guidelines/angiostrongylus-vasorum/. Retrieved 2026-09-16. Each heading below is the guideline’s own, and the quotation under it is how that section begins. The full section, and the species tabs where the guideline gives them, are on the linked page.
Synopsis
CAPC Recommends Early diagnosis is essential, if left untreated, infections could be fatal. The most effective way to diagnose Angiostrongylus vasorum is collection of first stage larvae in feces using a Baermann technique or serum antigen test.
Species
Canine Angiostrongylus vasorum – French heartworm. Angiostrongylus vasorum is a parasite of foxes and other canids that also finds its way into dogs.
Disease
Disease due to Angiostrongylus vasorum is an inflammatory reaction with the subsequent involvement of the surrounding lung tissue that may be accompanied by interstitial pneumonia, emphysema, thromboarteritis, coagulopathis, anemia, melena, hemoptysis, and congestive right heart failure. Aberrant migrations of adults (eye, left ventricle, femoral artery) and first-stage larvae (brain, spinal cord, eye, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle, intestine, stomach, pancreas, spleen, adrenal gland, thyroid gland) have occurred.
Prevalence
Angiostrongylus vasorum is mainly a parasite of continental Europe, Africa, and South America, but it has recently entered England and Ireland and has been found in the Atlantic provinces of Canada.
Diagnosis
For Angiostrongylus vasorum , larvae are detected in feces using the Baermann technique or fecal flotation. Larvae are less reliably detected on fecal flotation.
Treatment
Angiostrongylus vasorum has been treated with levamisole, fenbendazole, ivermectin, milbemycin oxime, and moxidectin. Severe dyspnea and ascites may be seen after treatment; bronchodilators, expectorants, and diuretics may be required to manage these post-treatment reactions.
Control and Prevention
For dogs and cats, routine preventives are probably not protective against these parasites. Pets can be protected by minimizing the amount of hunting that the animals do.
Public Health Considerations
No human health hazard appears to be associated with Angiostrongylus vasorum .
Continue reading public health considerations on capcvet.org
Sources
- capc-angiostrongylus-vasorumCAPC · retrieved 2026-09-16
“CAPC Recommends Early diagnosis is essential, if left untreated, infections could be fatal. The most effective way to diagnose Angiostrongylus vasorum is collection of first” (Synopsis)
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