Mê Thú Cưng - Pet Magazine for Vietnam Số Tết | Số 6 | Tet Issue | Issue Six 2015 | Page 67

Mê Thú Cưng Expats Pet Owner Guide for Vietnam 60 69 QIf one of my dogs has heartworms, can he give it to my other dogs? And can people get heartworms from their dogs? Does heartworms transmitted from mother to litter? AAs I said above, heartwormswithout cannot transmit from dogs to dogs mosquitoes. It means that without mosquitoes your infected dog cannot give heartworms to the other dogs and the mothers cannot give heartworms to the litter. However, as Vietnam is a tropical country, Mosquitoes are everywhere in Vietnam. So, if one of your dogs has heartworms, other dogs may be infected by the same mosquito. Q In Vietnam, especially in the southern region, due to the hot and humid weather that produce so many mosquitoes, how do you prevent your dog from getting heartworms? is consistently above 14°C (57°F) year-round like Saigon and Southern Vietnam, a continuous prevention schedule is recommended. Q Many pet owners adopt dogs and animal shelters have dogs with heartworms because they cannot afford the treatment is it ok to adopt a dog with heartworms? What do you recommend for them if they do adopt without knowing the history of the dog? A As aRescue and Care Vietnam), I veterinarian working for ARC (Animal understand this situation. I love people who adopt animals from shelters. They help animals a lot. Their love to animals is remedy for sick animals. I am sure the adopted dogs with heartworms will be happier and live longer with or without treatment. I would recommend a heartworm test to know if the dog is heartworm ne gative or positive before adoption. They then can decide the adoption and treatment if needed. A We should to help ourthe at Q Once my dog has minimize mosquito bites dogs our home and the surrounding by these suggestions: - Fumigate to treat mosquitoes - Keep fish in pond to kill mosquito larva - Get rid of any death water in your garden where mosquitoes can lay eggs Luckily now there are medical prevention for dogs. Preventive drugs are highly effective, and when regularly administered, will protect more than 99% of dogs and cats from heartworm. We have heartworm products like Heartgard, Iverhart, Intercepeptor, Advantage and Revolution. In Vietnam, I have seen many dogs imported from colder climates where mosquitoes usually die off and the heartworm threat is less severe. In Canada and the USA, the prevention may be 6 months on and 6 months off. In regions where the temperature heartworms, what’s the treatment? How much will it cost? A I dotreatmentlike complicated and not this question because is expensive. We want to kill and remove the worms out of our dogs’ hearts but it is not easy. Live heartworms can dilate the heart and can create heart failure and respiratory disorder. Dead heartworms may break loose and travel to the lungs, potentially causing respiratory failure and death. Therefore before the worms can be treated, the dog must be evaluated for heart, liver, and kidney function to evaluate the risks of treatment. Usually, the adult worms are killed with an arsenic - based compound. I myself use Immiiticide to treat heart worm for dogs. This medicine is not cheap. It is about 280 Euros. The heart worm treatment may take several weeks. If the heartworm test is negative for your dog after treatment, it is considered a success. Q If my dog gets heartworms, and is treated for them, can he get them again? If I don’t treat my dog with heartworms, will he “outgrow” his heartworms? A Yes,mosquitoesheartworms again he can get unless hate him and never bite him again. If your dog has heartworms and you do not treat him, he can be a carrier and can be a heart worm reservoir for the community. Q What age of your puppy do you begin providing preventive treatment? How about kittens /cats is there a preventive program for them? A Mosquitoesbirth.bite your puppies may and kittens at However, adult heart worm can only be in the hearts of our dogs and cats at 6 months old of age after the microfilaria develops in the body. We can stop the development of microfilaria when our puppies/ kittens are at about 3 months old by giving them the first heart worm prevention. Q What type of preventive program do you suggest to pet owners ? Ahave aisbrand new puppy, I think we This an interesting question. If you can start prevention at about 3 months old after full vaccination. For an older dog and a rescue dog, I would advise a heartworm test and if it is negative, we should immediately start the preventive program. I highly recommend annual heartworm testing for pet owners who choose to use minimal dosing schedules or forget the prevention. If you return your dogs/cats to colder climates where there is no heartworm, you can stop the prevention. Issue 06 | 2015 | petmagazine.vn 65