Nothing is more frustrating or heartbreaking than when a heartworm positive diagnosis is made at my hospital. Especially since heartworm disease is preventable! Despite educating and talking to each and every one of our clients, it seems that someone always slips through the cracks and fails to provide year-round heartworm prevention for their pet.One of the most prevalent and life threatening diseases to our small animal companions is heartworm disease. Remember, heartworm disease is carried by the much dreaded, mosquito. For humans, we are always on patrol to avoid the nuisance and of course the fear of West Nile virus. For dogs and cats, the danger and the reality is that one bite from a mosquito carrying heartworms is all it takes to have your pet exposed to this deadly disease. If your pet is not on heartworm prevention, each and every mosquito you see could be your pet’s death sentence. I am not trying to be harsh, but only again want to stress the absolute need for every 30-day and year-round heartworm prevention.The good news is that heartworm disease is preventable. Simply by providing your pet its heartworm prevention every 30 days, year round, you are sparing your pet this deadly disease risk. There are several forms of heartworm prevention to suit your pet best, so talk to your personal veterinarian and decide what is best for your pet. The options include both oral and topical formulations, so there is no excuse that your pet won’t take one.The warm weather conditions in South Mississippi provide the ideal environment to have huge surges in mosquito populations, which, in turn, increases every pet’s risk exponentially. Every pet must take prescription heartworm prevention every 30 days, year round. If gaps or breaks in heartworm prevention occur, your pet is at risk. Remember that heartworm prevention also includes intestinal parasite prevention, which many of these pose human health risks, as well. Yuck!One way to compare the heightened risk in our local area is to simply look at the out-of-control flea population. So many of our clients who, again, failed to provide monthly flea prevention year round, ended up with a flea battle of their lives. Just like the rest of the pests that are in heightened numbers in our warm and humid climate, so are fleas and mosquitoes. Again, we live in an area of no forgiveness when it comes to heartworm disease.Remember some important facts of heartworm disease:
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