What’s Canine heartworm disease?

Writer：admin Time：2022-08-24 22:08 Browse：℃

What’s Canine heartworm disease?

The intermediate hosts of canine heartworm are Anopheles sinensis, Aedes albopictus, Culex pipiens pallens and other mosquitoes. Dogs are infected by the bite of mosquitoes containing infectious larvae. Heartworm adults are parasitic on the right heart and pulmonary artery of dogs, cats and humans. The adults will produce larvae, (the female worms directly produce larvae and become microfilariae) and circulate in the bloodstream. Mosquitoes bite dogs infected with heartworm disease. Cats then carry heartworm larvae, which metamorphose into infectious larvae in the salivary glands of mosquitoes, and then infect other dogs, cats and humans through mosquito bites. Dogs and cats can be reinfected with this disease.

 

What’s the symptom of heartworm disease?

Because the adult parasites live in the heart, causing damage to the heart, and gradually affecting the health of dogs, cats and humans, there is no obvious discomfort in dogs and cats at the beginning of the disease. After a period of infection, exercise intolerance, coughing, and shortness of breath gradually appear. Misdiagnosed as bronchitis or common heart disease. In the later stage, heart and lung failure, anemia, pulmonary hydrops, ascites, jaundice, liver and kidney failure occurred.

In dogs, chronic endocarditis, cardiac hypertrophy and right ventricular dilation may occur, and in severe cases, ascites and hepatomegaly may be caused by venous congestion. The dog manifested as cough, hyperactivity of palpitations, thin and weak pulse, murmur in the heart, enlarged abdominal circumference, and difficulty breathing. In the later stage, the anemia increased, and the patient gradually became thin and weak to death.

 

How to diagnosis and prevent heartworm disease?

Diagnosis of the disease is confirmed by the detection of heartworm larvae under a blood smear or the Heartworm Rapid Test Kit (Kit). If dogs and cats do not suffer from this disease, they can be prevented in the following three ways:

1, Oral method: Take heartworm preventive medicine regularly every month. In addition to the preventive effect of heartworm, this drug also has preventive effect on some parasites in the gastrointestinal tract.

2, Skin Drops: Drop a preventive drug (pfizer Revolution) on the nape of the neck every month. In addition to preventing heartworm, this drop can prevent fleas, ear scabies, some gastrointestinal parasites and some ticks.

3, Injection method: The dog is given an injection after 6 to 9 months of age (recommended after one year of age), and then every year after that.