Mosquitoes in April?

Well, if you own a dog and haven't thought much about mosquitoes and heartworm disease it is not too late to do something about them.

Heartworm disease can be serious and potentially fatal to the infected dog. The adult worm of Dirofilaria immitus lives in the heart and adjacent blood vessels. The dog does not generally show signs of the disease until some damage has been done. This is the reason an annual checkup is important to the long term health and well being of your friend. Fortunately the veterinary profession has a simple and accurate technique to diagnose the condition, ways to treat the infected dog, and for the dog that is free of heartworms and their offspring, there is a simple was to prevent infection.

Mosquitoes are the varmints that actually transit the disease from one animal to another. Animal to animal transmission does no occur. Adult heartworms have offspring called microfilaria that circulate in the bloodstream. A mosquito lights on the dog, bites, takes a blood meal which includes the immature microfilaria. The larvae mature in the body of the mosquito eventually winding up in the mosquito's saliva. The infected mosquito finds a dog, lights, bites and in the process passes microfilaria into that new dog. It is only after some additional maturing that the microfilaria can grow to adults which find their way to the new hosts heart.

Up to this point the newly infected dog has the worms but until such time as the adult females have offspring, a positive diagnosis can only be made by special antibody detection tests. Once there a microfilaria in the blood stream then a microscopic evaluation of that blood would reveal the infection.

Why the concern over the adult heartworm? Since the adults live in the heart and adjacent vessels, damage occurs by interfering with the action of the heart valves and by making the heart work harder. If present in large numbers, the adults can actually clog the vessels, reducing blood flow to the major organs, particularly the kidneys, lungs and liver causing them to malfunction.

One of the major problems with the disease is that most dogs generally show no signs until they are in the advanced stages. Obvious signs are related to the dog's stamina and are especially evident following exercise. Other signs include a soft nonproductive (dry) cough, weakness, shortness of breath and in very advanced cases, fluid retention in the legs and abdomen (giving a pot bellied appearance).

What can you do? At the time you get booster immunizations or rabies vaccine you can have your veterinarian check for heartworms and intestinal parasites.

If your pet tests positive then treatment to kill the adult worms and microfilaria can commence. Because of the location of the adults, there can be some side effects so your veterinarian will conduct some tests to evaluate the function of the liver and kidneys and may hospitalize you pet for a few days. Follow up medication may include antibiotics and will include a period of home rest for 4 to 6 weeks.

Should the test be negative you can prevent the possibility of future infection by using a once a month preventative. I like the products that also include preventing intestinal parasites. While most products suggest that you use the preventative until after the first killing frost I find it easier to continue the product monthly year around. I definitely suggest the monthly treatment in the south regions. Go with your veterinarians advice on how often to do the antigen blood test to make sure that your pet is still free of the disease. Giving the preventative without a negative test can lead to a severe and often fatal reaction.

Other aspects of control and prevention are to spray the environment to reduce the mosquito population and using a once a month topical to get rid of fleas, ticks and repel mosquitoes.

Remember that prevention of heartworm disease is an ongoing effort on your part.

What about cats? They too are affected by the disease so talk to your veterinarian about the problem in your area, testing and prevention.

What about people? There have been a few cases of heartworm disease in man BUT your chances of being hit by lightening are greater than contraction heartworm disease.