Heartworm Disease

            Along with spring and summer comes bugs, and in our area the mosquito is the most prevalent and troublesome insect.  For those of us that have dogs, it also means the threat of heartworm disease.

            It is rare these days to find a dogs owner who does not have some knowledge and understanding of heartworm disease.  This is partly due to the extensive advertising campaigns of those drug companies who manufacture heartworm control products.  Over the past 15-20 years, veterinarians have emphasized heartworm control more, too.  Despite this, there is a surprisingly poor compliance amongst dog owners in testing for heartworm and implementing some form of preventative program, allowing the disease to remain endemic or even epidemic in many geographical areas.

            I think that part of the problem is that it is difficult to “see” heartworm disease (people tend to not believe what they cannot see).  Most dogs infected with heartworms are subclinical, meaning that they currently are not showing any outward sighs of being sick.  This makes it difficult for people to intervene with blood testing, possible treatment and preventatives for a condition that does not seem to exist.  It makes for a hard sell program, but at the same time, we as veterinarians are trying to avoid having a pet get to the point where they are clinically ill.  Once they reach this stage, they are difficult to treat and are also costly to treat.

            In areas where heartworm disease is a problem, control of the disease through testing and administering preventative medications is a very important and essential health care item for dogs –in some situations even more important than routine annual vaccinations.

            If you have any questions regarding heartworm disease, do not hesitate to call your veterinary clinic.  The risk of heartworm disease is real, and the more pet owners understand this disease, the better we will be able to control the spread of this problem.

Heartworm Facts

♥Heartworm disease is 100% preventable

♥Over 250,000 dogs in the U.S. were reported positive for heartworms in 2004

♥Heartworms live in the hearts and lungs of infected dogs and cats.

♥Mosquito’s transmit heartworm larvae from infected dogs to healthy dogs and cats.

♥Left untreated, heartworm disease may be fatal to your pet.