Why protect i Mosquito dogs? Well, from spring to autumn we have the problem of cardiopulmonary filariasis. It is a disease transmitted by mosquitoise which can cause, long -term, heart failure. Also transmitted to the ferret and, in particular conditions, also to the cat, fortunately it is one of those diseases of the dog for which there is effective prevention.
A second pathology that can be transmitted by mosquitoes in dogs is skin filariasis, perhaps less widespread than cardiopulmonary (or under diagnosed). However, there are also reports of other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as Eastern Equ upper encephalitis, West Nile Disease or Tularemia. But it must be said that the latter are very rare in dogs.
Mosquitoes in dogs and filariasis
Cardiopulmonary filariasis is a serious parasitic disease caused by Dirofilaria Immititisa nematode relative of the DIROFILARY RENSSagent responsible in turn of the less dangerous skin fictions of the dog. The problem of the spinner is that the adult is located in Right cardiac ventriclein the cranial and caudal cave veins and in the lung arteries causing a serious and irreversible form of heart failure.
The preferential definitive guest of the Filaria is the dogbut it can also be transmitted to ferret And, sometimes, when it is highly endemic, here there can be the leap in species with transmission in cat. Among other things, in the cat and ferret the pathology is even more serious because, having the heart of much smaller size than the dog, very few spinners are enough to cause sudden death. (READ ALSO: Summer prophylaxis for dogs: this is how to protect them from fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and pappataci)
But let’s go back to the dog. Filaria is one vector diseasetransmitted by different species of mosquitoes including Aedes, Culex and Anopheles. To keep silent, then, of the tiger mosquito. Just this last mosquito is recently responsible for a denty fever outbreak in the Fano area, in the Marche region.
The Vital cycle of Dirofilaria Immititis It starts from a mosquito that stings an infected dog and thus ingests the spinning larvae, called microfularpresent in the dog’s blood. These L1 microfilage, within a couple of weeks, turn first into L2 and then into L3. When they reach the L3 larval stadium, they migrate to the buccal system of the mosquito.
In this way, when the mosquito punishes a new, potential definitive guest, the L3 will be broadcast. Once in the final guest the L3 begin to circulate in the body and ripen first in L4 and then in L5. The L5 head towards the heart, the cave veins and the lung arteries and here they become adults, ready to mate and produce others L1 that will start the cycle from the head.
Consider that the period of pretense of Filariosi It is very long, there is talk of months. This is because the spinners, before becoming an adult, take a minimum of 6 months, sometimes more. And once adults they must have time to damage heart and arteries. Which explains why the symptoms of Filariosis usually appear months or years after the infestation.
The spinning is transmitted from dog to man?
There Cardiopulmonary filariasis of the dog is transmitted to man? Technically it is one zoonosis as cases of human infection from Dirofilaria Immititis (and also by Dirofilaria repens) have been reported.
However, these are extremely rare forms, with early death of the parasite before it becomes adult as man is not the definitive preferential guest of this nematode. In man, however, are sometimes described symptoms as:
Symptoms of cardiopulmonary filariasis in the dog
As we anticipated before, the heart -pulled filariasis of the dog is one disease with chronic evolutionon the long run and which, sometimes, can trigger complications Very serious and fatal. These are the symptoms of filariasis to pay attention to:
Then there are two serious complications:
Diagnosis of filariasis in dogs
There diagnosis of filariasis in the dog It happens through some test Specific, including an antigenic test that searches antigens produced by adult females. Which means that there may be false negatives if the infestation is minimal or caused only by males.
The Knott test Instead, it serves to distinguish the microfilage in circulation in order to differentiate them from the Dirofilaria repens (the antigenic test does not detect the Uppens).
It is then important to keep the disease through:
Care and therapies of Filariosis in the dog
As for the therapyit will be your vet, based on the results of the staging, on the age of the dog, on its state of health in general and on the severity of the pathology (based on parasitic charge and on lung hypertension) to establish how to proceed.
Once the appropriate patient is inserted thromboembolic risk classhere you can adopt one of the following therapies:
In all three cases, micrilaricidal therapy must then be practiced, with the same drugs that we will use as prophylaxis and prevention.
Can the dog heal from the spinner? Yes and no. If we still don’t have adults and it is just about doing microfilaricidal therapy, the answer is yes. But if we already have adults, net of possible complications of adulticida therapy (thromboembolism, pulmonary hypertension), here we will be able to eliminate adults and microfilaria, but heart damage is irreversible.
How to prevent the dog’s filariasis?
There Prevention for dog filariasis It is made through the administration of appropriate drugs From spring to autumn, during the period in which mosquitoes are active. These molecules are intended to kill any microfilage in circulation before they arrive in the heart and turn into adults.
Exist Filaria tabletsSpot-on products (pipette) or even an injection (about the injection: it is not a Vaccine for the Filariadoes not stimulate the immune system, is a prophylaxis): ask your vet which product it is best to use.
Other mosquito diseases in dogs:
Here with us, to tell the truth, Filariosis is the most common disease transmitted by mosquitoes that we can see in the dog. However, there are several pathologies that mosquitoes can transmit to the dog, even if for some we talk about very rare sporadic reports:
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