The dog days of summer are here. Keep your furry friends in mind on these hot dry days. They require extra water, shade, & in extreme cases, even outdoors animals will need to be brought indoors.
Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem.
~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh
As summer draws to a close there may be some who are tempted to let up on their heartworm prevention medications. In this issue we will talk about the importance of staying on heartworm prevention year round.
First lets discuss how heartworms are contracted. Your neighbor has an infected dog & a mosquito takes a blood meal off that animal, then the mosquito visits your pet for a meal. During the meal the mosquito passes the heartworm larva into the bloodstream. In about 6 months your pet will have adult - reproducing heartworms.
Traditionally, it was taught that those who live in cooler climates “could” use their preventives seasonally. We in Virginia are right on the cut off of this region. We do occasionally have mild winter days, mild enough for a stray mosquito to emerge. Therefore we do recommend keeping your pet on prevention year round.
More importantly, during the winter your pet is still at risk for intestinal parasites.
Not only do we see infections at a higher rate but also some of these parasites are zoonotic (people can acquire them). When people, particularly children pick up these parasites they can be very bad.
Can people get worms from their pets?
Roundworms and hookworms can be transmitted from pets to humans. Thousands of people in the U.S. become infected with roundworms and hookworms every year.
Humans become infected with roundworms when they ingest infective eggs from the soil or from their hands or another object. Large numbers of the eggs can accumulate in the soil where dogs and cats are allowed to defecate. The eggs are sticky, and can collect on the hands and under the fingernails of
people. Children, and others who may not have good hygiene, are most prone to becoming infected. People become infected with hookworms when the hookworm larvae in the ground penetrate through the skin. Persons who have contact with the ground, especially for long periods of time, such as plumbers or electricians, and sunbathers, especially those lying on wet sand or ground, are at increased risk. Roundworm eggs and hookworms eggs and larvae need to be in the environment approximately two weeks, before becoming infective, so direct contact with an infected animal generally does not result in transmission. However, young puppies may continually contaminate their entire litter area. Adults and children who handle the bitch or puppies or who clean the area may be especially at risk. If a human ingests roundworm eggs, the subsequent larvae can migrate through the person's tissues (this condition is called "visceral larva migrans") or eye ("ocular larva migrans"). Hookworm larvae migrate through the skin and cause a disease known as "cutaneous larval migrans." To prevent human infection, good hygiene is extremely important. Teach children, especially, to wash their hands after playing and before eating. Do not let children play in areas where dogs or cats may have defecated. Do not allow cats to use sandboxes or the garden as litter boxes. Worm your pets as recommended, keep the environment clean, and control rodent populations.
Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department,
Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.
Besides the reasons previously stated, many of the manufacturers of preventives also have a guarantee on their products. If we can show that your pet has been protected year round & current on a heartworm exam they will cover all expenses if the product fails.
So tempted as you may be, once cooler weather hits, keep steady with your parasite prevention program. Your furry friends will thank you for it.