Heartworms
A Worm Deadly to All Dogs
Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are the most dangerous and deadly parasitic worms to infect dogs, and are why mosquitoes, the vector that spreads these parasites, are so dangerous. Unlike most parasites, heartworms are deadly to the healthiest of adult dogs.
To understand the danger of the heartworm and importance of preventing heartworm infections, one must understand its life cycle.
Heartworm Life Cycle
How they get into the Heart
The spread of heartworms starts when a mosquito feeds on an infected animal. When it does, it consumes a number of microfilaria contained in the animal’s blood. Microfilaria is the microscopic, worm-like larval offspring of the adult heartworm. Once in the mosquito, over the next 14 days or so depending on the environment’s temperature, they molt into their second larva stage, and then into their third larva stage.
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Affects of Heartworms
Why Heartworms are so Dangerous
Once in the heart and lungs, the heartworm immediately causes damage and inflammation. Also, the arteries become clogged as the worms grow. This causes poor function of the heart and progressively destroys the lungs.
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Preventing Heartworms
Prevention is Better then Treatment
We currently have a simple monthly treatment for the prevention of heartworms. It is an oral treat-lick chewable pill that kills the heartworms in their microfilaria stage. Care must be taken with this treatment! It does not kill the adult heartworm and can cause a bad reaction if adults are present.
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Diagnosing Heartworms
Testing Must be Done Before Prevention or Treatment
Testing for or diagnosing heartworm can be done in three ways, two of which are blood tests and the other is simply looking for damage in the heart and lungs with an x-ray.
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Treating Heartworms
Removing Heartworms Before They Do Too Much Damage
Treating a heartworm infection is conceptually straight forward, kill the adult heartworms in the heat and lungs, and then kill the larvae throughout the body. However, the medication for killing the adults is very hard on the dog’s system. It is after all poison, a derivative of arsenic. This is especially true for a dog’s system weakened and damaged by the heartworm infection.
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