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CANINE HEARTWORM DISEASE
What causes heartworm disease?
Heartworm disease (dirofilariasis) is a serious and potentially fatal disease in dogs. It is caused by a blood-borne parasite called Dirofilaria immitis.
Heartworms are found in the heart and adjacent large blood vessels of infected dogs. One dog may have as many as 300 worms.
Where are heartworms found?
Canine heartworm disease occurs all over the world. In the United States, it was once limited to the south and southeast regions. However, the disease is spreading and is now found in most regions of the United States and Canada, particularly where mosquitoes are prevalent.
How do dogs get infected with them?
The disease is not spread directly from dog to dog. An intermediate host, the mosquito, is required for transmission. Spread of the disease therefore coincides with mosquito season. The number of dogs infected and the length of the mosquito season are directly correlated with the incidence of heartworm disease in any given area.
It takes a number of years before dogs show outward signs of infection. Consequently, the disease is diagnosed mostly in four to eight year old dogs. The disease is seldom diagnosed in a dog less than one year of age because the young worms (larvae) take up five to seven months to mature after infection.
How do heartworms get into the heart?
Adult heartworms live in the heart and pulmonary arteries of infected dogs. They have been found in other areas of the body, but this is unusual. They live up to five years and, during this time, the female produces millions of offspring (microfilaria). These microfilariae live mainly in the small vessels of the bloodstream. The immature heartworms cannot complete their life cycle in the dog. The mosquito is required for some stages of the heartworm life cycle. The microfilaria are not infective (cannot grow to adulthood) in the dog although they do cause problems.
As many as 30 species of mosquitoes can transmit heartworms. The female mosquito bites the infected dog and ingests the microfilariae during a blood meal. The microfilariae develop further for 10 to 30 days in the mosquito and then enter the mouthparts of the mosquito. The microfilariae are now called infective larvae because at this stage of development, they will grow to adulthood when they enter a dog. The mosquito usually bites the dog where the hair coat is thinnest. However, having long hair does not prevent a dog from getting heartworms.
When fully developed, the infective larvae enter the bloodstream and move to the heart and adjacent vessels where they grow to maturity in two to three months and start reproducing, thereby completing the full life cycle.
What do heartworms do to the dog?
Adult heartworms cause disease by clogging the heart and major blood vessels leading from the heart. They interfere with the valve action in the heart. By clogging the main blood vessels, the blood supply to other organs of the body is reduced, particularly the lungs, liver and kidneys, leading to malfunction of these organs.
Most dogs infected with heartworms do not show any signs of disease for as long as two years. Unfortunately, by the time clinical signs are seen, the disease is well advanced. The most obvious signs are a soft, dry cough, shortness of breath, weakness, nervousness, listlessness, and loss of stamina. All of these signs are most noticeable following exercise, when some dogs may even faint.
In advanced cases, congestive heart failure may be apparent and the abdomen and legs will swell from fluid accumulation. There may also be evidence of weight loss, poor condition, and anemia.
Severely infected dogs may die suddenly during exercise or excitement.
How can I prevent my dog from getting heartworm disease?
We recommend that you keep your dog on year round heartworm preventative. This will help to prevent heartworm, as well as to control intestinal parasites that your dog may be exposed to. If you choose not to keep your dog on year round preventative, May to December administration of the preventative should be followed. We will perform a yearly blood test to screen your pet for heartworm disease. The test which we use also screens for three tick-borne diseases as an added benefit.
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