All About Heartworm – the scariest worm

Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes, and it only takes a single bite from a carrier mosquito to infect your pet. It also means that your pet does not have to meet other animals to contract the disease. With ever increasing mosquito numbers, and their presence even in the cooler months the spread of heartworm is of concern. Furthermore foxes and feral cats can act as reservoir for heartworm. It is also important to note that pets can become infected without contacting another animal

The carrier mosquito infects your pet with heartworm larvae as it feeds. Once infected larvae migrate through tissue and organs. They end up in the heart and adjacent blood vessels of the lungs where they grow into adult worms. It can take up to 6 months for the larvae to grow into an adult and in in the early stages of heart worm infections there may be no outward sign of the disease. Heartworm disease can be fatal eventually leading to heart failure and death.

Whilst in Victoria heartworm is not as common as the warmer northern states, it is still present enough to be concerned. It is also concerning that we are seeing mosquitoes most of the year now which means the risk of heartworm infection is all year round.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure and the use of an effective heartworm treatment can ensure that your pet remains disease free.

There are preventative treatments that need to be given each month, or alternatively there is a yearly injection option. if your pet is not on heartworm prevention, please speak to one of our staff .

It is important to note that preventative products will not treat adult heartworm. If your pet has not been on any heartworm prevention a quick and simple blood test can be performed to make sure that they do not have the parasite, and prevention started. We are coming into mosquito season now, when spread will begin to increase.

If you have any questions please contact the clinic we will be more than happy to discuss your pets preventative care needs.