Hope ya'll have been enjoying the warmer weather we have had lately. With the warmer weather, comes a few unwanted guests, namely mosquitoes. Did you know that mosquitoes help to transmit heartworm disease? A mosquito takes a blood meal from an infected animal like a dog or coyote and then as it bites an uninfected animal, the microfilariae, or the larval stage of the parasite, enter in the blood stream and from there take about 6 months to develop into a full grown adult. The adult worm makes its home in the heart, hence the word Heartworm disease. Heartworm disease can be fatal if left untreated!!
The current treatment for a dog with heartworm disease is a very costly and the medication is on an allocation basis only. However this diease is preventable!! Here at Cordova Veterinary Hospital we recommend giving your dog a once monthly pill such as Interceptor or Sentinel to help prevent this disease, which is much more cost efficient, on top of being easier to do. We also recommend that dogs be heartworm tested annually, even if they are on a preventative.
Cats should not be forgotten in this potentially fatal disease! We are also susceptible to this awful ailment. Cats should be given Revolution once monthly as this protects us not only from fleas but heartworm disease too. Even though I live in an air conditioned castle, a.k.a. Cordova Veterinary Hospital, I am given Revolution on a regular basis, because you never know where mosquitoes are lurking.
**My information was taken from http://www.heartwormsociety.org/ which has helpful information that I encourage you and your pets to read. Also below is an interactive map to find confirmed cases of heartworm disease as well as tick borne diseases.
http://www.dogsandticks.com/diseases_in_your_area.php
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm.html#where
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