Guest Anonymous Posted February 14, 2004 Posted February 14, 2004 This may be a dumb question but here it goes. Is it possible for a pregnant female that is heart worm positive to pass the heart worms on to her puppies? Thanks for advice on this subject Dogue man :roll: Quote
imported_Cassie Posted February 15, 2004 Posted February 15, 2004 Good question! :wink: I am only guessing...and I am sure some one will correct me if I am wrong! :lol: I would say no, heart worm cannot be transmitted from bitch to pups. Adult heartworms lay very tiny larvae called microfilariae. The microfilariae can live up to three years in the dog's bloodstream. These microfilariae enter a mosquito when it sucks blood from an infected animal. In 2-3 weeks, the microfilariae develop into larger larvae in the mosquito and migrate to the mosquito's mouth....when the mosquito bites another animal then the larvae enters the animals skin. The larvae grow and after about three months finish their migration to the heart, where they grow into adults, sometimes reaching a length of 14 inches. The time from when an animal was bitten until adult heartworms develop, mate, and lay microfilariae is about 6-7 months in dogs and 8 months in cats. If I am wrong, I do apologise...I will check with the vets I work with on monday as well...unless some one else on here knows the answer. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted February 15, 2004 Posted February 15, 2004 Thank you so much for the information. I have tried to find information on this topic but have found nothing on the net so far. I think this board is great. Dogueman Quote
imported_Kat Posted February 15, 2004 Posted February 15, 2004 From what I can remember, heart worms and other round worms can indeed be transmitted to the developing puppies via lacteal glands or across the placenta. That is why it is vitally important to regularly worm the bitch before and during pregnancy. Heartworms are not a problem we have in the UK thankfully so don't take my word on this! Quote
imported_Cassie Posted February 15, 2004 Posted February 15, 2004 This is interesting and will be a good question to ask my fellow workers on Monday. :wink: The reason I think they cannot be transmitted to the pups as most roundworms...is due to only being transmitted by the intermediate host the mosquito...the microfilariae only develop into larger larvae in the mosquito's mouth and are then transmitted from mosquito to dog via mosquito bite....they have a different life cycle from ordinary round worms... The round worms which can be transmitted from mother to pup are Toxascaris leonina, Toxocara canis and hook worms. If you live in an area which is heavily populated by mosquito's which may carry the heartworm...it is advisable to have your pup's blood tested at about 6 - 7 months of age for heartworm...its also a good idea to put your pup on a preventative heartworm medication which will also protect for other types of roundworms and hook worm. Kat, I also live in an area where we do not have a problem with heart worm. Quote
imported_Cassie Posted February 16, 2004 Posted February 16, 2004 OK, here is a statement about heart worms from a Vet manual I have... Microfilariae MUST go into a secondary host , the mosquito, to continue their life cycle. While waiting for a mosquito, they can remain alive and viable in the bloodstream of the dog for as long as 3 years. So this answers the question that NO heartworms are not passed from mother to pup. What is interesing as well is most healthy dogs build up an immunity to heart worms as do wolves and coyotes etc. Quote
imported_Kat Posted February 17, 2004 Posted February 17, 2004 Cheers for that Cassie. I am not very well up on the knowledge of heart worm as thankfully we don't have it here in the UK, but I have seen the hazarding photos of animal hearts with the worms. Not very nice at all :-? Quote
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