How Does Heartworm Disease Spread?
Heartworm parasites go through several life stages.
Mosquitoes usually serve as the intermediate host during
the larval stage of the heartworm. Heartworm larvae are
also known as microfilariae. Mosquitoes ingest
microfilariae when they bite infected dogs.
Microfilariae then undergo changes in the mosquito,
allowing it to be passed on to other animal. This
process normally lasts about 10 days.
When infected, microfilariae get flushed through the
infected dog's blood stream and eventually reach the
heart and lungs where they grow into adult heartworms
that can reach 14 inches (5.5 cm) in lenth. Female adult
heartworms can each produce thousands of new
microfilariae per day, which can live in the host
animals blood stream up to three years. They are waiting
to be picked up by mosquitoes, starting the infection
cycle again.
HEARTWORM LIFECYCLE
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