What is Heartworm?
Heartworm is a large parasitic worm of the round-worm family that thrives in a dog's heart It feeds on nutrients in the blood stream and can grow to a length of 15-30 centimetres. In severe cases, up to 500 worms may infect a dog. If left untreated, heartworm can permanently disable your pet or eventually kill it.
What does a Mosquito Have to do With Your Dog and Heartworm?
Heartworm disease is transmitted solely by mosquitoes. When a dog already infected with heartworm is bitten, the mosquito takes up immature baby worms (microfilariae), as well as blood.
Over 10 to 14 days, these worms grow into infective larvae and are transmitted to other dogs during subsequent blood meals.
These larvae eventually travel to the now dog's heart where they mature and complete the life cycle by producing new microfilariae.
You can see where one infected dog can present a hazard to all dogs in the community during mosquito season.
What are the signs of Heartworm?
Unfortunately, by the time symptoms of heartworm become apparent, the effects on internal organs may be too advanced to be treatable. Typical signs of the disease are:
* chronic cough
* laboured breathing
* premature fatigue
* general lack of energy
* heart attack after exertion
What You Can Do to Protect Your Dog
A simple blood test conducted by your veterinarian can quickly determine whether or not your pet is infected. If the dog is not infected, a preventive program should he initiated as soon as possible. A lengthy treatment program could be necessary if tests reveal an infestation.
Prevention versus Treatment
PREVENTION: Treatment for heartworm can expose your dog to potentiaey dangerous and costly procedures, so prevention is obviously far more desirable.
A program of medication that protects your pet during the mosquito season can halt the development of any infective heartworm larvae that have been passed on by mosquito bites, effectively breaking the heartworm life cycle. No maturing larvae means no further production of microfiliarae, eliminating the source of mosquito transmissions to other animals.
The initial dose must be given within one month of or after the first evidence of mosquito activity, and should continue until at least one month after the end of the mosquito season.
TREATMENT: Treatment involves a series of injections to kill the adult worms in infected animals. During the weeks of treatment that follow, the dog must he kept quiet as even minor exertion can result in serious lung damage caused by dead worms.
Once all hazard of post-treatment reaction has passed, medication to eliminate immature worms from the blood is administered. Finally a program of heartworm prevention is initiated.
Consult your veterinarian to determine the best way to protect your dog from heartworm disease.