YEE-HEARTWORM

TAVISHI

I have a friend who is currently attending vet school at Texas A & M. And apparently, she's seen such a ridiculous amount of canine heartworm cases. But while she was living in Arizona and working here, she saw not even a single one. I looked into it, and apparently, Texas has the highest density of canine heartworm cases in the U.S.

Why, you may ask? The answer: Texas is humid and hot as hell, which makes for mosquito paradise. Heartworm is one of the best known and most deadly canine parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Most people prevent heartworm in their dogs with a monthly preventative, which, according to my dog, tastes pretty good. Canine heartworm, or Dirofilaria immitis, is a parasitic roundworm affecting the pulmonary arterial system. D. immitis is transmitted to mammals via mosquito bites. The larvae mature to L3 before they are capable of being transmitted to a dog. If a dog is bitten by a mosquito with L3 larvae, (assuming this dog is not receiving preventative care), infection will ensue within six months. However, it takes about six months for the actual infection itself to begin. At the point at which a bite occurs, the larva is just under the skin. The larvae mature to adulthood, and through the course of their life, migrate to the pulmonary arteries. When D. immitis is finally mature, the adults get straight to business: mating! The early offspring of D. immitis are known as microfilaria, which, while young are useless in infection, are how infection is further transmitted. A mosquito bites the infected dog, picking up the microfilaria. Sharing the love <3 At six months or so, infection can be detected as this is when D. imittis is mature. The two primary markers for detecting infection are antigens and microfilaria. These antigens are related to female reproduction of the worms, and thus, can only be detected after six months. Similarly with microfilaria. The most common test takes about eight minutes to display results, and not only tests for heartworm, but also for Lyme disease, anaplasma, and ehrlichia. I've actually used these tests before- you add one drop of blood drawn from the dog and two drops of buffer solution. After eight minutes, if you have no lines other than the control line, you're all good! Thanks, Accuplex! The best way to treat heartworm is to prevent it. We only really have one effective treatment for a mature heartworm infection, but we have multiple methods of preventing heartworm throughout a dog's life. The three primary methods are moxidectin, ivermectin, and milbemycin oxime. Ivermectin is often what people go for because they've heard of it. However, many of these medications have additional preventatives affecting other parasites, like fleas and ticks. Furthermore, some of these medications are not safe for lactating or pregnant pups, which makes them a no no for some dogs.

Most, if not all of these medications, are drugs you take once a month on the same day. If you ever miss a dosage for your pup, it's crucial to get a heartworm test six months later to ensure your dog is okay.

Once heartworms are mature, it's a rough ride to get them out- these worms will last years in a dog. The fastest patent infection removal can take about two years, and the only medication on the market for it is melarsomine. Finally, we find our way to a very stock bacterium: Wolbachia pipientis! W. pipientis infects D. immitis, and often creates a secondary infection for dogs infected with D. immitis. When one worm dies, another door opens? Is that how the saying goes? But other than that secondary infection, when D. immitis infection is patent, symptoms include coughing and exhaustion. Symptoms don't even necessarily manifest when adult worms are draining the blood of dogs; but rather, when microfilaria build up in the heart. When infection goes too far, congestive heart failure may occur, as well as other cardiac symptoms. Although heartworms are called heart worms, the mature adults don't typically actually live in the heart; rather, they affect the pulmonary arteries. When dogs die, these worms are found in the heart, and so it is assumed that they just eat away at the canine heart. Their name is yet another misnomer. Heartworm is one of many very, very preventable diseases in dogs. GIVE YOUR DOG THEIR PREVENTATIVE ONCE A MONTH!!! Please and thank you.