April is recognized as heartworm awareness month.  Test your heartworm IQ.

True or false

1. Heartworms are only found in dogs.
2. If your pet gets heartworm you will know because they are seen in your pet’s stool.
3. Animals only need to be on heartworm preventative during the warm months.
4. Adult heartworms are less than an inch in length.
5. Only outside animals are susceptible to being infected with heartworms.
6. Heartworm infection is easy to diagnose.
7. If my pet gets heartworm, treatment is simple and can be done at home without the risk of complications.
8. Clinical signs of heartworm disease are always mild and occur immediately after infection.
9. Heartworm disease only occurs along the Gulf coast and Mississippi River basin.
10. Pets get heartworm by direct contact with animals that have heartworms.
11. Hearworm infection is diagnosed using a fecal sample.

Scroll down for the answers.

Heartworms are only found in dogs.

False.  Heartworms are also found in cats, ferrets, coyotes, wolves, fox and  some times people.

If your pet gets heartworm you will know because they are seen in your pet’s stool.

False.  Heart worms are found in the heart, lungs, blood vessels and body tissues but not the intestinal tract.

Animals only need to be on heartworm preventative during the warm months.

False.  Pets need to be on heartworm preventative 12 months a year.  Mosquitoes come inside and some mosquitoes tolerate cool weather.

Adult heartworms are less than an inch in length.

False.  Adult heartworms can be a foot or longer in lenth.

Only outside animals are susceptible to being infected with heartworms.

False.  Mosquitoes do come inside.  While going out to the bathroom it only takes one bite from the wrong mosquito to cause a heartworm infection.

Heartworm infection is easy to diagnose.

False.  It takes at least 6 months after a bite from an infected mosquito for a dog to test positive.  Cats seldom have adult worms so the routine testing will not detect overt infection, only indicates which cats have been exposed to heartworms.

If my pet gets heartworm, treatment is simple and can be done at home without the risk of complications.

False.  Treatment of the heartworm positive dog requires restricted activity for 6 month and hospitalization while receive a series of injections.   The cat has no approved treatment.

Clinical signs of heartworm disease are always mild and occur immediately after infection.

False.  Heartworm lives 5-7 years in the dog, may have several hundred worms, and usually does not show symptoms for 2-4 years.  By that time much damage has occurred in the lungs and respiratory blood vessels.  The right side of the heart has increased in size and the dog is in heart failure.  In cats the heartworm only lives 2-3 years and in most cases does not have adult worms.  Cats can have mild signs like periodic coughing or vomiting, or more life threatening signs such as asthmatic attacks or emboli that cause sudden death (stroke).

Heartworm disease only occurs along the Gulf coast and Mississippi River basin.

False.  Heartworm has been diagnosed in all 50 states and several foreign countries.  The incidence of heartworm in South Carolina is much higher than most states.  (see the incidence map on the American Heartworm Society website).

Pets get heartworm by direct contact with animals that have heartworms.

False.  Heartworm is spread by an infected mosquito bite.  The mosquito will bite an infected host such as the dog and ingest young larva forms (microfilaria).  They will develop into infective third stage larva in 2-3 weeks and be transmitted as that mosquito bites other animals.

Hearworm infection is diagnosed using a fecal sample.

False.  Heartworm diagnosis requires a blood sample to look for antigens.  Because adult worms seldom exist in cats these antigen tests are not as accurate in the cat.