Pet Health

Heartworm Disease

Heartworm disease in Dogs

Heartworm is found in numerous locations across Australia.

Heartworm has recently been diagnosed twice in our practice in inner North Brisbane in the Autumn of 2019.

Heartworm is an often-deadly parasitic disease of dogs spread by mosquitos. Larvae are picked up by mosquitos after biting an infected dog, before being transmitted to a healthy dog via another mosquito bite. After six months the larvae have grown into adult worms that live in the heart and vessels around the lungs.

Left untreated, heartworms can reproduce and grow, causing blockages of the major vessels and serious disease. Fortunately, there are effective means of preventing this disease.

Prevention

Fortunately, there are many effective heartworm preventatives on the market. In Brisbane, you need to ensure your dog is on heartworm prevention medication year-round, as even one missed dose can put them at risk of heartworm disease.

The two main types of preventatives; a yearly injection plus monthly preventatives that come in a spot on, tablet or chew form (often combined with other types of worming and flea medications). Research shows the injection to be the most effective.

At Northgate and St Vincents Vets; we can help you with the best preventative plan for your pet. Many pet owners manage the risk of heartworm disease with the yearly injection, as this removes the risk of forgetting a dose of preventative medication. Your veterinarian can administer this injection as part of your pet’s regular health check along with vaccination(s).

Symptoms of heartworm disease

When dogs are infected with larvae after being bitten by an infected mosquito, they don’t usually show any clinical signs of the disease. However, once adult worms have grown and reproduced, disease associated with blockage is often seen.

Symptoms of clinical heartworm disease include:

• Low exercise threshold (exercise intolerance)
• Lethargy and weakness
• A dry and persistent cough
• Weight loss

In more severe cases, when the heart and lungs have been extensively damaged by the worm burden, symptoms include:

• Rapid and shallow breathing
• Swollen abdomen
• Sudden collapse
• Blueish tinge to gums
• Sudden death (particularly after exercise)

Diagnosis and treatment of heartworm disease

Diagnosing heartworm disease in dogs involves a couple of steps. After six months from the first infected mosquito bite, adult heartworms can be detected on a rapid bedside test from a drop of blood. At Northgate and St Vincents Vets we will look at your dog’s blood under the microscope too, looking for worm larvae.

Once confirmed on a blood test, we can stage the infection by taking chest X-rays and conducting further blood tests to check the degree of damage caused by the infection. Treatment can be risky and prolonged, so prevention is definitely the best cure in the case of heartworm disease.

Heartworm disease in cats

Heartworm can infect cats as well as dogs. However, the disease is very different in cats. Most cats that are bitten by infected mosquitos only have a short, limited infection, as their immune system kills the larvae before they can grow into adult worms.

This also means that heartworm disease in cats is more difficult to diagnose in cats. Although the infection is usually self-limiting in cats, it can cause an allergic reaction and immune response that damages the lungs.

Symptoms of feline heartworm disease can often mimic feline asthma, another respiratory condition of cats. If your cat is showing signs of feline asthma, we might consider testing for heartworm, even though it’s a rare condition in cats.

Fortunately, there are monthly tablets and spot-on treatments for cats which protect them against heartworm disease; and as with dogs, prevention is always better than cure.

Source Material: Vet Voice, a publication of The Australian Veterinary Association

Posted in Pet Health at 17 April 19