Q: How is heart worm disease transmitted from one animal to another?
A: Heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitos. It only takes one bite for a dog to be infected with heartworms, so why take the risk!? Make sure your pet is protected year round!
Female adult heartworms living in an infected animal (dog, fox, coyote, etc.), produce baby worms (microfilaria) that then circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites an infected animal and takes a blood meal, they also ingest some of these baby worms (microfilaria). Inside the mosquito, the microfilaria develop into the infective larva (L4), a process which takes about 2 weeks.
When that mosquito has its next meal, it passes the infective heartworm larvae to the animal it bites. The larvae then gradually develop inside their new host into foot-long mature adult heartworms which migrate to the heart and lungs where they can live for 5 to 7 years in dogs (2 to 3 years in cats) and can cause serious disease and eventually death.
Without protection, a pet can be repeatedly infected, increasing the number of adult worms living in the heart and lungs and increasing the severity of disease the animal experiences.
Click on the link to watch this helpful video on heart worm transmission and for additional useful information about heartworms: CLICK.
Q: How common is heartworm and what is the risk to my pet?
A: The short answer: heartworm is VERY common in central Oklahoma and your cats and dogs should be protected year round! Here is an incidence map for reported cases - an underestimate of actual prevalence of heartworm disease.
There is no season or time of day where your pet is safe from being infected with heartworms.
Q: How do heartworm preventives work to prevent heartworm disease?
A: Heartworm preventives don't actually stay in your pet's system for the 30 days between doses. They work by killing the immature stages of the heartworm that your pet acquired in the previous 30 days, preventing those baby worms from developing into mature adults that will harm your pet. When your preventives are not given consistently on time, this provides a window of opportunity for the heartworm larvae to complete the lifecycle.
Always make sure that the preventives you are using for your pets actually include a heartworm preventive - prescribed by your vet! There are a lot of preventive options out there that cover a range of parasites: fleas, ticks, mites, intestinal worms, heartworms, etc. Make sure you read the label carefully to understand what it is you are preventing for and ask your vet if you are unsure!