Heartworm is a deadly round worm that infects dog’s blood stream which can lead to many health effects and eventually death. Heartworm is transported via mosquitos, a mosquito will bite an infected dog and intake the microfilaria (juvenile heartworm) with the blood and then infect the next dog they bite. The microfilaria live in the blood stream, as they mature they make their way to heart and lungs of the dog where they attach to the organ walls. This cause’s significant damage to the dogs’ organs. Clinical signs of an infestation of heartworm include coughing, becoming lethargic, loss of appetite, difficulties breathing and rapidly tiring after short burst of activity, however once these signs have begun to appear it is too late and irreversible damage has been done.
If infected dogs are left untreated, their health will slowly deteriorate until they pass away, this can be a very slow and very painful process. If your dog does become infected there is treatment available however this is a rather long process and can be painful for your dog.
There is a blood test available to test if your dog is infected with heartworm or not, it generally takes about 10minutes to run in house. If this test is negative we highly recommend getting your dog on a form of prevention. There are two different options for heartworm prevention, one is a tablet that needs to be given strictly every 4 weeks, the other is an injection that lasts 12 months and can be given with your dog’s other annual vaccinations.
With the much needed rain that has fallen over the New Year and Christmas period we have sadly seen multiple new cases of heartworm within the region. We encourage everyone to make sure that their pet is uninfected and is either taking the monthly prevention tablets or on the annual heartworm injection.
If you have any questions about heartworm or would like to book an appointment or find out if your dog is covered please contact your vet.