Veterinary staff talk about heartworm prevention frequently when you bring your pet to us for care, but do you know exactly what heartworm disease is?
Heartworms are parasites. They are approximately 1 foot long, slender, white worms that live in the heart, lungs, and nearby blood vessels. Altering the normal function of the heart and lungs, they can cause heart failure, lung disease, as well as affect other organs. Dogs are the natural host for the parasite, but it can affect many other mammals, including cats. In cats, heartworm is hard to diagnose because the worms often do not mature into adults. The current tests available detect adult heartworms.
The mosquito is a necessary part of the development cycle of heartworm. The mosquito does not simply move baby heartworm (microfilaria) from one mammal to the next, but rather, a phase of heartworm growth happens in the mosquito. The mosquito is the only insect that can carry, grow, and transmit heartworm disease as infective larvae.
The cycle of heartworm starts with a mammal with adult worms producing microfilaria (baby worms). Those microfilaria are picked up during a mosquito bite, and days later, are deposited into the next mammal. It will take six months for that exposure to grow to adult worms in the heart. Heartworm preventatives eliminate larval stages of the parasite before they can develop into adults. Heartworm preventative is ineffective on adult worms.
A reservoir of potential heartworm carriers exist within our countryside and community. Considering the nearby wild population of fox and coyote, as well as stray, relocated, or neglected dogs, the opportunity for exposure to heartworm constantly exists.
Prevention of this serious disease is far easier than treatment. Heartworm can be treated but long term effects on the heart and lungs may remain. The current recommendations of the American Heartworm Society is year around preventative. Maintaining a pet on year around preventative takes any guesswork out of the wide seasonal variations even the northern climates may have, accounts for mosquito adaptations to tolerate colder climate, and possible overwintering of mosquitoes. Many preventatives also have a de-wormer for intestinal parasites as an added benefit.
The American Heartworm Society website has information for pet owners, including incidence maps and the answers to many questions you may have. https://www.heartwormsociety.org/ As always, feel free to contact Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital if you have any questions or concerns regarding the health of your pet.
article written by:
Laura Rau-Holl, DVM
Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital, Kenosha, WI
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