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As more people get pets it’s nice to know some of the common risks to their health and how to prevent disease. Heartworm disease is a life threatening infection in pets seen throughout the nation and also is a significant problem right here in the Hill Country.

The disease is actually spread from one pet to another by mosquitoes. It only takes one bite by an infected mosquito to spread the infection. Although humans do not get sick from heartworms, it is a life threatening disease to dogs and cats. In dogs, the worms cause damage to the heart and blood vessels of the lung whereas in cats the worms cause severe lung damage. This article will walk you through a dog’s heartworm symptoms, treatment options, disease cycle, and prevention options.

Because of the damage to a dog’s heart and blood vessels, some of the first symptoms of heartworms in dogs is a dry, nonproductive cough and a decreased ability to exercise. Many dogs with heartworms live for years without any signs of disease and only get sick and show symptoms when the damage to the heart is extremely severe. Fortunately, with a few drops of blood and about 10 minutes of time we can determine if a pet has a heartworm infection. Even more importantly, there is a treatment that can successfully clear the worms from the dog’s heart and a treatment that will prevent the spread of worms to other pets.

In the heartworm life-cycle, it is important to know that there are several key "players". The life cycle begins with a pet that has female adult heartworms living in the heart. These adult worms produce many baby heartworms (called microfilaria) which swim throughout the bloodstream. Next, a mosquito bites this pet and picks up the baby heartworms. Now the baby heartworms live inside the mosquito for a few weeks and migrate to the glands around the mosquito’s mouth or proboscis.

Now this infected mosquito flies around and bites your pet. When it bites, many microfilaria go into the pet’s body. It takes about six months from that one bite until the microfilaria become adult heartworms inside the heart. It is important to know this timing because this is when the disease can be prevented.

There are several different kinds of medication that can be given, usually once monthly, to prevent this disease. They work by killing the baby heartworms as they grow and try to migrate to the heart. As an added bonus, most of the heartworm prevention medications also kill other kinds of worms that infect pets. Here in the Texas Hill Country winters are not cold enough to completely get rid of mosquitoes so prevention medication is recommended all year. "Indoor only" pets are also very susceptible to infection because occasionally mosquitoes do fly through open doors and end up inside. It only takes one mosquito bite to cause heartworm disease and many pet have enough hair that the bite (or the mosquitoes themselves) goes unnoticed.

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Heartworm disease can cause severe illness and even death, so have your pet tested. Remember too that an ounce of heartworm prevention is worth a pound of cure. There will be a free "ask the doctor" session on heartworm disease at 5:30pm, February 16, 2010 at Deer Creek Veterinary Clinic at 101 Heritage Oaks Drive in Johnson City, Texas. Call (830)868-5600 for more information about the information session or any questions about heartworm disease.