Heartworm disease is a serious disease that results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death in pets, mainly dogs, cats, and ferrets. It is caused by a parasitic worm called Dirofilaria immitis. The worms are spread through the bite of a mosquito. 22 авг. 2019 г.
How is heartworm transmitted in animals?
Heartworms are only transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and are not transferred from pet-to-pet or to or from humans. Once infected with the heartworm larvae, it can take several months for symptoms to appear in your pet as the worms grow and impact the organs.
How are heartworms transmitted to other dogs?
Heartworms are spread by infected mosquitos. If a dog has heartworm and is bitten by an infected mosquito, the heartworm can be passed to another dog via the mosquito. The mosquito has to host the heartworm long enough for it to mature and be able to infect the next victim the mosquito bites.
How is heartworm transmitted in cats?
And the only way in which this worm can enter your cat's body is through a mosquito bite. The infection occurs when a mosquito pierces a cat's skin and, in so doing, allows entry of heartworm larvae that it has picked up from another animal, most commonly an infected dog, into the victim's bloodstream.
Which animal is responsible for the spread of heartworm?
Heartworms are only transmitted from animal to animal by mosquitoes. When an infected mosquito bites an animal, microscopic young heartworms enter into that animal's bloodstream. It takes six months for the infective larvae to mature into adult heartworms and reach the blood vessels of the lungs.
Can my dog give my cat heartworm?
Cats are resistant hosts, and few circulating microfilariae are generally found. Because of this life cycle, it is necessary for a cat to be bitten by an infected mosquito in order to become infected with heartworms. Heartworms are not transmitted directly from one cat to another or from a dog directly to a cat.
Where do heartworms live in an animal's body?
Because heartworms live in the bloodstream, lungs and heart, they can kill or seriously debilitate pets that are infected with them.
Do livestock get heartworms?
NO. The reason is that heartworms are transmitted through mosquito bites, not through direct contact between animals and/or humans (hair coat, feces, body fluids, etc.). In addition, human infections with Dirofilaria heartworms are extremely rare. For additional information read the chapter on the life cycle below.
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