Information - Fleas and Heartworm
About Heartworm
 Heartworm is a disease that is common in dogs in all areas throughout the world. The disease can easily be prevented if the right steps are taken.
Heartworms live in the heart and large adjacent vessels of infected dogs. Female dog heartworms can be up to 14 inches long (5.5 cm) and 1/8 inch (5mm) wide. The males are about half the size of females. A dog can have as many as 300 heartworms.
How Does Heartworm Disease Spread?
Heartworm parasites go through several life stages. Mosquitoes usually serve as the intermediate host during the larval stage of the heartworm. Heartworm larvae are also known as microfilariae. Mosquitoes ingest microfilariae when they bite infected dogs. Microfilariae then undergo changes in the mosquito, allowing it to be passed on to other animal. This process normally lasts about 10 days.
When infected, microfilariae get flushed through the infected dog's blood stream and eventually reach the heart and lungs where they grow into adult heartworms that can reach 14 inches (5.5 cm) in lenth. Female adult heartworms can each produce thousands of new microfilariae per day, which can live in the host animals blood stream up to three years. They are waiting to be picked up by mosquitoes, starting the infection cycle again.
What are the Clinical Signs of Heartworm Disease?
Heartworms may cause dysfunction affecting blood circulation, heart, liver and kidneys. Heart and lung are the most common organs that can contain heartworms. Often, dogs do not show signs of heart worm disease for up to two years. When the disease is recognized, it is often well advanced.
How Can Heartworms Damage My Pet's Health?
Adult heartworms cause medical problems by clogging the heart and major blood vessels near the heart. Heartworms can also interfere with the valve action in the heart. If heartworms are present, the blood supply to other organs in the body is reduced, particularly to the lungs, liver and kidneys. If the heartworm disease is not controlled, these organs may eventually fail and your dog may suddenly die during exercise or excitement.
Adult heartworms can also cause the destruction of tissue of major organs such as the lung, liver and kidney, leading to coughing, anemia and weakness.Microfilariae may block blood flow in small vessels.
About Fleas
 Fleas are very common in dogs and cats in all areas throughout the world. Fleas can easily be prevented if the right steps are taken. This site contains information about the different causes of Fleas and how to prevent your pet from getting them.
Fleas are parasites draw all their nutrients from the host animal. Fleas have been on earth for millions of years - a fossil flea found in Australia is claimed to be around 200 million years old.
Approximately 3,000 fleas species are recognised, 95% live of mammals, 5% off birds and of all these only 20 species are known to readily bite man.
The most commonly found flea is the cat flea, it is this flea that dogs find most troublesome as it can cause an allergic reaction known as FAD - Flea Allergy Dermatitis.
Most animals can tolerate a few fleas, but it is only as the fleas increase in number that, as pet owners we start to notice them and even then it is the adult fleas that we generally see.
Stage one - The eggs are laid by the adult flea and these fall off your pets coat in to your home.
Stage two - Larva hatch from the eggs and crawl into carpets, pets bedding, under furniture and behind doors.
Stage three - The cocoon is the resting phase, the emerging adult will jump on to pets and humans.
Stage four - The adult flea is ready to lay eggs.
Adult fleas lay their eggs on the host animal, after a few hours the eggs fall off your pet into it's environment - your home! Most of a fleas life is spent as an egg, larva or cocoon and at this phase it will remain hidden in the fabric of your home for up to a year or more.
Larvae hatch from the egg from one to ten days, the larvae survive by eating flea dirt (flea faeces) that has also fallen from the host animal. Larvae do not like bright lights and will crawl deep into carpets, furnishings where they can take five - ten days before becoming cocooned.The cocoon is the resting phase and can remain dormant for a long time, or hatch in 15 days.
The flea will emerge from it's cocoon when stimulated by the presence of a mammal. The flea can detect the vibration of a passing animal, an increase in temperature, shadows and carbon dioxide.
Adult fleas only live from one - two weeks but in that time a female can lay as many as 1,000 eggs.
Paralysis Tick
The paralysis tick (Ixodes Holocyclus) lives on native animals (bandicoots and other marsupials) along the Eastern seaboard of Australia. It can also attach to domestic animals and humans. The tick injects a neuro toxin which causes progressive paralysis, respiratory depression and death in animals.
Early symptoms in dogs are loss of voice, wobbly gait and vomiting.
The paralysis can be treated by your veterinarian but prevention is very important. Preventative products include Frontline Plus, Advantix, Proban Tablets. |
