LUNGWORM AND DOGS
Lungworm is endemic throughout much of the UK and is potentially life threatening, with many dogs at risk of infection every day. In a recent survey of vets, 30% said they have seen at least 1 lungworm death in the last five years. However, 63% of UK dog owners say that their dog has never received preventative treatment1.
On this page you can check the number of reported cases in your area, find resources to raise awareness of lungworm, educate pet owners on the risks, and find tools to help you talk to your clients about the need for monthly prevention.
LUNGWORM MAP
The lungworm map below allows you to view reported cases in your area and is a great way to raise awareness with your clients. Only reported cases are shown, so it is not exhaustive as many go unrecorded.
You can also direct pet owners to the My Pet & I website to view the pet owner lungworm map so they can see the risk in their area themselves.
What is the Elanco Lungworm Map?
The Lungworm Map shows the number of lungworm cases reported by vets, nurses and pet owners in the UK, and whether the cases were confirmed by diagnostic tests or suspected.
Why track reported Lungworm cases?
Lungworm has been shown to be spreading across the UK – though original cases were reported in the South of England, there have now been reports as far as Scotland and the North of England2. Collecting Lungworm cases allows us to see the incidence rate of Lungworm infections in the UK providing information on the geographical risk of the parasite. The map has been in use for 15 years and in that time we have collected over 2,200 cases, although this is just a snapshot of what is out there.
LUNGWORM SURVEY
To understand more about what pet owners know about lungworm and how they treat it, we spoke to 100 vets and 500 pet owners across the UK1. According to the results…
30% of vets have seen at least 1 lungworm death in the last five years, and 87% of vets in the UK have seen at least 1 case of lungworm in their career.
However, 63% of dog owners say they have never given their dog preventative treatment and 79% of dog owners don’t know that lungworm prevention should be given monthly.
23% of dog owners don’t know any symptoms of lungworm and only 35% of owners think that they have spoken to someone at their vet practice about lungworm.
68% of dog owners often see their dog eating grass, so slugs and snails could easily be ingested without them knowing.
Visit our Lungworm Campaign Page to find tools to help raise awareness of the risks of lungworm with your clients and remind them to use their preventative treatment every month to prevent infections.
PROTECTING PETS FROM LUNGWORM
Learn more about Advocate and how it can help you protect from lungworm.
Lungworm awareness social media toolkit
Protect more dogs from the devastating effects of lungworm with our pet owner awareness toolkit. Run a general awareness campaign, or alert clients to new cases of lungworm.
- Elanco Animal Health. Lungworm market research 2023
- Kirk L et al., Vet Rec (2014)