04/03/2024
๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ
๐๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐บ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐??
Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets in the United States and many other parts of the world. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body. - American Heartworm Society
๐ง ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ?
A SINGLE bite from an infected mosquito can put your pet at risk for developing heartworm disease.
According to the American Heartworm Society, the mosquito plays an essential role in the heartworm life cycle. Adult female heartworms living in an infected dog, fox, coyote, or wolf produce microscopic baby worms called microfilaria that circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites and takes a blood meal from an infected animal, it picks up these baby worms, which develop and mature into โinfective stageโ larvae over a period of 10 to 14 days. Then, when the infected mosquito bites another dog, cat, or susceptible wild animal, the infective larvae are deposited onto the surface of the animal's skin and enter the new host through the mosquitoโs bite wound. Once inside a new host, it takes approximately 6 months for the larvae to develop into sexually mature adult heartworms. Once mature, heartworms can live for 5 to 7 years in dogs and up to 2 or 3 years in cats. Because of the longevity of these worms, each mosquito season can lead to an increasing number of worms in an infected pet.
๐ To make an appointment or find further information about heartworm prevention, please visit:
https://royalanimalrefuge.org/clinic/
