Do you know how to protect your pet from heartworm disease?

What is heartworm disease? 

Dirofilaria immitis, commonly known as heartworm, is a long thin worm that lives inside an animal’s lung vessels or even heart. It causes a serious disease – heart failure being one of the issues – and can be fatal.  Treatment is not always possible, may induce side effects, and do not solve the existing lung and heart lesions. This disease is a perfect case in which prevention is far better than a cure.

Which animals are concerned by heartworm? 

Dogs are the principal host of this worm, but cats can also be affected, as well as more unusual hosts such as ferrets, pumas, lions, coyotes, foxes, wolves and, very rarely, humans. Once inoculated in the animal’s body by mosquitoes, it takes approximately six months for the larvae to spread through the dog’s body, to finally reach the lung vessels and grow into mature worms of 30-40 cm length. 

How do heartworms spread? 

The transmitters of heartworm are the mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites an infected animal, it ingests some “baby worms” called microfilariae that are present in the blood. Inside the mosquito, these “baby worms” develop into transmissible larvae within 14 days. When the mosquito then bites another animal, the larvae move to this animal as their final host in which they can develop into adult heartworms. 

Heartworms live inside the animal’s body for a few years, silently damaging the lungs and heart vessels before the visible heartworm disease develops. Heartworm disease is a global problem. But the more tropical and humid the climate is, the more likely it is that the larvae will be circulated through mosquito bites.

What are signs you have to look out for? 

Recognizing the signs of heartworm infection can help to get a diagnosis earlier, which can protect pets from developing a serious condition. But the signs are sometimes difficult to detect. 

In the very early stages of the disease, or if the parasitic load is low, your pet can appear to be perfectly fine and may not show any signs. As the disease progresses you can notice, for example, unusual fatigue/lethargy, less appetite, drowsiness, intolerance to physical exercise and heavy breathing. At the most critical point, your pet can cough and struggle to breathe, or even show heart failure as well as infections in the lungs.

What can we do to prevent heartworm disease in cats and dogs? 

Fortunately, it is possible to protect your dog or cat with the responsible and regular use of an approved preventive parasiticide killing heartworm larvae before they become adults. Alongside, you can reduce the risk of severe heartworm disease development through early or regular testing. Ask your vet for a blood test to check if your pet has been infected. If the test comes back positive, your vet will decide on the best treatment option.

Heartworms can cause serious damage to your pet´s health, and it is not easy to get rid of these worms once they have developed. Therefore prevention is key, especially in areas where the disease is known to occur. Apply suitable parasiticides as recommended by your vet, watch your pet’s behavior, learn how to recognize the signs in your best friend, and, when in doubt, seek out your veterinarian for advice.