Canine heartworm disease can be detected by fecal examination.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only in combination with blood tests
• D. Not at all

Answer: (B)

Heartworm disease is diagnosed through blood tests and imaging because the parasite lives in the heart and pulmonary arteries, not in the gastrointestinal tract. Fecal examinations are used to find eggs, larvae, or cysts of intestinal parasites, not heartworms. Since there is no heartworm stage shed into the feces, a fecal exam will not detect heartworm infection. Diagnostic approaches rely on blood-based tests, such as antigen tests for adult female worms and microfilaria detection, often supported by imaging to assess cardiac and vascular involvement. So the statement is not correct.