Heartworm Disease in Dog

Heartworm disease in dog is very common. Dirofilaria immitis is the so called heartworm of dog and the dogs are the definite host for these worms. These heart worms not only infect the dogs but also nearly thirty species such as wolves, foxes, ferrets, domestic cats etc.

These heart worms can infect the humans too. The heartworm disease in dog gets transmitted from one dog to the other by through mosquito bite. The infective larva which gets transmitted through the bite of the mosquito leads to this problem.

The larva feed on and grows to full size in the body of the dog. These adult worms then migrate to lungs, heart and related blood vessels. One peculiarity here is that even when the worms are immature, the females have the ability to produce the offspring after mating with the males.

The time gap between the entry of the larva and the presence of offspring in the blood stream is known as pre-patent period. The pre-patent period is generally 6-7 months.

The full grown worms can be seen after one year of infection. These fully grown worms can survive in the body of the dog for about at least 5-7 years.

The heartworm infection is very common in United States of America. The dogs are highly susceptible to heart worm infection irrespective of the sex, age and the habitat.

The dogs are infected between three to five years of age in general however the infection can be noticed in dogs that are barely one year old too.

Clinical Signs- Heartworm disease in dog

Symptoms in dogs appear when more than 25 worms are present. Up to 60 worms cause circulatory difficulty.The heart worm present in the dog leads to various complications such as liver, kidney, lung and heart dysfunctions.

The onset of the disease may be acute. But in general the disease starts with mild symptoms that arise due to chronic infection in combination with physiological changes.

In case the dog is infected with less number of adult heart worms, then detecting the disease is difficult because the dog will not show any discomfort unless subjected to strenuous exercise.

In case of early infection there won't be any abnormal clinical signs. In case of mild infection cough can noticed.

In case of moderate infection, abnormal lung sounds, cough, and exercise intolerance can be noticed.

When the disease becomes severe, difficulty in breathing, enlargement of liver, loss of conscious for brief period of time resulting from the improper flow of blood to the brain, syncope, abnormal heart sounds, excess accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, and death are certain possibilities.

Prevention- Heartworm disease in dog

Prevention is certainly better than cure which rightly holds good for heartworm disease in dog. Dogs six months older should be tested for heartworm before starting a prevention program. Repeating the tests for every six months will hold good for your dog.

The organ infected is heart and lung, which are vital for the very survival of the dog. Keeping the dog house free from mosquito is the best way to prevent the disease. Of course there are drugs that can kill both the immature and mature worms that lead to heartworm disease in dog.