The basic information on heartworm disease

Heartworm disease pathogen Dirofilaria immitis, mosquito bites by the transmission of blood parasites, dogs of any age can be found in cats and humans also found that foreign studies have shown that stray cats suffering from heartworm Disease ratio of 4 to 15%, because the cat's heart is small, once suffering from the disease, the mortality rate is higher than the dog a lot.

Canine heartworm disease

The center host of the heartworm is Anopheles sinensis, Aedes albopictus, Culex pipiens pallens and other mosquitoes. Dogs are infected by mosquito bites that contain infective larvae. Heartworm adult worm parasitic in dogs and cats and human right heart and pulmonary artery, adults will produce larvae, (female larvae directly, as microfilaria) in the blood circulation, mosquito bites infected heartworm disease dog After the cat carrying heartworm larvae, the larvae in the mosquito salivary glands degenerate into an infectious larvae, and then by other mosquito bites and other dogs and cats and human infection. Dogs and cats can be repeated infection of the disease.

Heartworm disease symptoms

Due to adult parasitic in the heart, causing heart damage, and gradually affect the dog and cat and human health, so the beginning of the disease in dogs and dogs without obvious discomfort, in the infection for some time, the gradual emergence of movement intolerance, cough, shortness of breath, Misdiagnosed as tracheitis or common heart disease. Later there are heart and lung failure, anemia, pulmonary hydrops, ascites, jaundice, liver and kidney failure death.

Suffering from chronic endocarditis can occur in dogs, cardiac hypertrophy and right ventricular dilatation, severe venous congestion caused by ascites and hepatomegaly and other diseases. Suffering from dogs showed cough, palpitations hyperthyroidism, pulse thin and weak, heart murmur, abdominal circumference increased, difficulty breathing. Late anemia to promote, gradually wasting weak to death.

Diagnosis and prevention

Heartworm disease must be found by blood smear heartworm larvae or heartworm rapid test kit (Kit) to diagnose. Such as dogs and cats without suffering from the disease, you can prevent the following three ways:

Orally: monthly regular use of heartworm prevention drugs, this drug in addition to a heartworm prevention effect, the gastrointestinal part of the parasites are also preventive effects.

Skin Drops: Monthly in the neck dorsal skin drops preventive medicine (pfizer Revolution), the drops in addition to prevention of heartworm, but still able to prevent fleas, ear scabies, part of the gastrointestinal tract parasites and part of the ticks.

Injection: Dogs in the 6 to 9 months after the application of injection (after the proposed one year old), followed by a regular annual application of a dose.

Prevention measures

(1): drive to kill adults: the application of sodium sarsasone amide, a dose of 2.2 mg / kg body weight, intravenous injection, twice a day, once every two days. Intravenous injection should be slowly, the liquid can not leak out of the blood vessels, so as not to cause inflammation and necrosis of the organization. Or dichloro-phenylarsine chloride, a dose of 2.5 mg / kg body weight, intravenous injection, every 4 to 5 days 1, the drug insecticide effect of strong, small toxicity. Dried microfilaria: with the left pyrimidine, dosage of 10 mg / kg body weight, oral, once every 15 days, the sixth day of treatment after the test blood, when the blood can not detect microfilaria, stop treatment. Or ivermectin (trade name harm off lvomec), the amount of 0.05 to 0.1 mg / kg body weight, 1 intradermal injection. Or with fenthion, per kilogram body weight of subcutaneous injection of 0.2 ml of 7% solution, if necessary, repeated 2 weeks 2 weeks. Should also be based on condition, symptomatic treatment.

(2): to prevent and eliminate the intermediate host: the prevention and elimination of fleas, mosquitoes is an important measure to prevent the disease. Drug prevention can also be used: Ethylazine (sea Qunsheng) oral dose of 6.6 mg / kg body weight, mosquitoes, flies active season should be continuous medication. For microfilaria positive dogs, is strictly prohibited the use of diethylcarbamazine, you must first kill the adult worms and microfilaria, in order to start with diethylcarbamazine for prevention.

To avoid heart disease

Dogs and cats at four months old, you can carry out the prevention of heartworm, the literature that dogs and cats in six months before the blood does not appear heartworm larvae, so six months ago, the heartworm of the Prevention is no need to test, more than six months of age and then recommend to check whether the prevention of infection is better. Regularly given to dogs and cats heartworm prevention of drugs to reduce the chance of mosquito bites, the prevention of disease-oriented way.

Precautions

Heartworm infection serious dogs using deworming drugs to be careful, parasitic in the heart of the heartworm death, loss may block the arterial tube, causing more serious consequences, need to be used with caution.