(Illustration: Wix)
Spring has arrived and April is Heartworm Awareness Month. Heartworm is a preventable, but serious and potentially fatal parasite that primarily infects dogs, cats and ferrets. It can also infect a variety of wild animals, including wild canids (e.g., foxes, wolves, coyotes), wild felids (e.g. tigers, lions, pumas), raccoons, opossums, and pinnipeds (e.g., sea lions and seals), as well as others. Treating a dog for heartworm is expensive and risky. Heartworm disease does not go away on its own. It is much easier and less costly to prevent this disease than to treat it. A once a month beef-flavored "treat" is all it takes to prevent Heartworm Disease.
Heartworms can only be transmitted from animal to animal by mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites an infected animal, young heartworms called microfilariae enter into that mosquito's system. Within two weeks, the microfilariae develop into infective larvae inside the mosquito; these infective larvae can be transmitted to another animal when this mosquito takes its next blood meal. Unlike dogs, infected cats do not often have microfilariae circulating in their blood, and an infected cat is not likely to transfer the heartworm infection to another mosquito.
Geographically, heartworms are a potential threat in every state as well as in many other countries around the world. All dogs, regardless of age, sex, or living environment, are susceptible to heartworm infection. Indoor, as well as outdoor, cats are also at risk for the disease.
Because heartworms are spread by mosquitoes, any pet exposed to mosquitoes should be tested. This includes pets that only go outside occasionally. If your dog has been recently or mildly infected with heartworms, it may show no signs of illness until the adult worms have developed in the lungs and signs of heartworm disease are observed. As the disease progresses, your dog may cough, become lethargic, lose its appetite or have difficulty breathing. You may notice that your dog seems to tire rapidly after only moderate exercise. Diagnostic tests are available from your veterinarian to detect the presence of adult heartworm infection (> 6 month old infections) in your dog. As with most medical problems, it is much better to prevent heartworm infection than to treat it. However, if your dog does become infected with heartworms, there is an FDA-approved treatment available.
There is substantial risk involved in treating a dog for heartworms. However, serious complications are much less likely in dogs that are in good health and when you carefully follow your veterinarian's instructions. The goal of heartworm treatment is to kill the adult worms and microfilariae present in your dog, as safely as possible. However, when a dog is treated it is important to consider that heartworms are dying inside the dog's lungs. While your dog is treated, it will require complete rest throughout treatment and for some time following the last treatment. Additionally, other medications may be necessary to help control the body's inflammatory reaction as the worms die and are broken down in the dog's lungs.
The good news is heartworm disease is preventable, it is imperative that you get your puppy to the vet for his/her first check up at age 6 weeks, your veterinarian will then start your puppy on heartworm preventive medicine. You should always use heartworm preventive during the months of mosquito presence. You must always have a test in April to make sure your dog hasn't been exposed in the months that your dog is off medication. Once you receive your dog's negative test results you can then start them on the preventative medication once again. You should also use a monthly preventative to ward off mosquitoes, fleas and ticks as well.
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