Heartworm

Heartworms are a name that dog owners are terrified of. Once a dog is infected, it can be fatal.

Dogs are infected through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes inhale heartworm larvae from infected dogs and carry them to other dogs. Therefore, heartworm infection is more common in the New Territories, while it is relatively rare in Hong Kong Island or urban areas.

When adult male and female worms mate, heartworms, unlike other parasites, lay eggs, but instead lay larval microfilariae. The microfilariae are released into the bloodstream, waiting for a mosquito to pick them up and carry them to another host. Microfilariae can live in the body of a born dog for up to two years. If after this period, mosquitoes do not pick them up, they die of old age.

The parasite has five larval stages :

L1S Heartworm microfilariae are first-stage larvae
L2 and L3 : When a mosquito ingests heartworm microfilariae, the microfilariae develop into L2 and L3 inside the mosquito, which is enough to infect a new dog.
L4 : When a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito, L3 is not deposited directly into the dog's blood. Instead, it is deposited in a small droplet of fluid next to the mosquito bite. Over the next one to two weeks it develops into L4 in the skin of the new host.
L5 The L4 lives inside the skin for about three months until it develops into the L5 stage and is ready to enter the body's circulatory system. The L5, which is actually a young adult worm, migrates to the heart and outside the pulmonary artery to mate.

Adult heartworms are quite large, several inches long and can grow up to 14 inches long. In adulthood, the heartworm prefers to live in the pulmonary artery rather than in the heart. It swims into a cozy tube-like artery where it is massaged and nourished by the blood passing through it. The presence of heartworms in the infected dog's pulmonary artery produces a strong inflammatory response and blood clots. If the worms are in high numbers, the heart must work harder to pump blood through the clogged artery.

For example, if a 40-pound dog has more than 25 heartworms, it can take up most of the space in the right ventricle of the heart. The body will enlarge the heart and increase blood pressure to meet the body's needs, directly causing heart disease and high pulmonary pressure in the future, which is a great threat to life.

Ways to prevent heartworms:
Choose medication
Vaccination once a year.

If your dog is found or confirmed to be infected, you should follow the veterinarian's instructions as soon as possible to seek medical treatment.

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