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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, July 11, 2006

EXPERT ADVICE

Heartworm Disease and Your Pet

By Scott T. Harada, DVM

It starts with a very tiny bite. This is how easily your pet may be exposed to heartworm disease, a worldwide threat to pets and a very real problem right here in Hawaii.

More than 500 cases of heartworm disease in pets in Hawaii and more than 250,000 nationwide were reported in 2004 alone. Knowledge of this life-threatening disease is vital in taking steps to provide effective protection for your pet.

Let's begin by meeting the heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis It is a parasite that, when transmitted into the pet, lives in the right side of the heart and arteries of the lungs, which can lead to heart failure and damage to the liver and kidneys. Although it begins as a microscopic larvae, the heartworm has been known to grow to be 14 inches long.

"My pet doesn't meet any other pets and stays indoors, so she's not at risk, right?" WRONG! Sorry to say, but this is a very common misconception. The heartworm is transmitted by a common flying combination incubator/syringe-in-one called the mosquito. Just one bite by a mosquito which has already bitten an infected dog can spell big trouble for your pet. Our humid warm environment is ideal for the carrier (the mosquito) and its deadly cargo (the heartworm larvae) to flourish; thus, the high risk of infection in our paradise.

"How do I know if my pet is infected with heartworms?" Unfortunately, in the early stages of the disease, your pet may not show any symptoms and the symptoms differ between dogs and cats. As the damage to the heart and lungs worsens, your dog will cough, experience loss of stamina, and then have difficulty breathing. In cats, the worm may not travel to the heart but may, instead, go to the lungs (leading to symptoms similar to asthma such as coughing and difficulty breathing) or to the nervous system (leading to seizures) as your cat's body reacts to this foreign invader.

These are frightening scenarios but you do not have to wait for them to appear to diagnose the disease. Your veterinarian has blood tests which can detect the heartworms, thus allowing you to begin treatment earlybefore major damage to your dog's health occur.

"If my dog has the heartworm, is there any hope for treatment?" Yes, there is. If your dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, your veterinarian can discuss with you a plan involving injections of medication, which in most cases can effectively treat this disease. Your veterinarian can discuss any risks and precautions necessary as part of the treatment.

Cats, on the other hand, may clear themselves of the worm in 2-3 years. Because of the greater risks involving treating cats as a result of their reaction to the dying worms, treatment is not recommended at this time. This same increased sensitivity makes cats at greater risk of serious lung disease from the worms while they are present.

"Wow, scary stuff," you say. "How can I protect my little friend from this threat?" If your pet is found to be free of the parasite, then your veterinarian can prescribe a safe effective preventive plan that is as simple as a monthly pill or topical drops applied to your pet's skin.

Preventing heartworm infection is particularly critical for cats because the lack of a safe treatment of their disease at this time. In our hospital, we emphasize prevention and early detection of disease; this is never truer than in heartworm disease.

As a veterinarian, I see so many diseases that we cannot prevent which strike at our pets; it saddens me when we allow our pets to be exposed to one that can be so easily prevented. Through regular visits with your veterinarian, blood tests and protecting your pet with once-a-month heartworm preventives for their entire life, you may effectively minimize, if not eliminate, the impact this deadly disease may have on your pet.

Dr. Scott Harada is a veterinarian at The Pet Clinic. Dr. Scott is a graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and has a strong interest in small animal dermatology. Caring for pets as family members is a strong emphasis in his approach to veterinary medicine.