heartworm treatment in the aftermath of hurricane katrina
by Terri Mitchell - experienced animal rescuer in the southern united statesIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many animals are being rescued and transported to other parts of the United States that may not be as familiar with this type of worm that is prevalent in the southern states. A lot of the animals being rescued from Louisiana and Mississippi may have heartworms. Many vets on the west coast may not be very experienced with heartworm. Even if an animal is positive not all the animals have to go thru this treatment but on the other hand animals who do need the treatment need to be treated carefully.
Many dogs displaced by hurricane Katrina have heartworms. I have been rescuing animals in Southern MS for 4 years. I have rescued exactly two that did NOT have heartworms. All the rest tested positive.
It's important that potential adopters, vets and rescuers be aware that it's very likely the dogs from the hurricane-stricken areas have heartworms. The symptom is coughing/choking. People should be made aware that there are two ways to treat heartworms. If the dog has high antigen and is obviously in distress (severe coughing upon exertion), he or she should be treated under a veterinarian's care. The treatment is injections of Ivermectin under a veterinarian's care. The high-dose ivermectin is used after or before the immiticide that kills the adults. For high-infection, high-antigen cases, they do have to use the melarsomine dihydrochloride, the immiticide. The animal MUST BE KENNELED during treatment and for approximately two weeks after treatment. If the dog jumps, runs, or exerts itself in any way,dissolving worms can break off, creating clots and the dog will die. Guardians must take the admonition to not allow the dog to exert itself very seriously, even if the dog is perky and wants to run around. The good news is that all of the dogs I've had treated have survived, even elderly animals--but they must not be allowed to run around. This is extremely important. Also, heartworm treatment should never be done on debilitated, stressed animals. People should wait until their animals are well-adjusted and well-nourished before they put them through heartworm treatment.
Under certain conditions, if the antigen level is low, and the dog is not in imminent danger, the dog can go without treatment. The heartworms will eventually die in about a year and a half. In the South, when this treatment option is used, very low doses of Ivermectin are given to kill off any new infections while waiting for the existing heartworms to die. Heartworms are carried by mosquitoes--something which is less of a problem in other parts of the country. Care must be taken because giving Ivermectin to a heartworm-infected dog causes worms to die and the dying worms can cause clots and kill the dog. But I have used this treatment option of giving very low doses of Ivermectin to heartworm-infected dogs, and it does work. Very low doses of Ivermectin kill the worms in the early stages of the worms' growth; the high doses used in treatment kill adult worms.
Collies, and Collie mixes can be deathly sensitive to ivermectin. For Collies, alternative treatment must be used.
There can be residual heart problems after treatment. I strongly recommend L-carnitine supplements for dogs treated for heartworms.
L-carnitine is an amino acid which is very important for dogs, and it's critical for heart muscle. I recommend a human dose; it's not toxic. I also highly recommend they get raw beef heart which is rich in natural enzymes and minerals including Co-enzyme Q10. Vitamin E in the form of tocotrienols or gamma tocopherol should also be given. These things can be purchased at a health food store or online. But, again, raw beef heart is number one for restoring heart health. These animals,especially, need high-quality, good food such as real turkey, chicken,fish, and raw beef. A person feeding cheap commercial food will spend more in vet bills than they would have if they had bought real "people" food and human-grade petfood such as O&M or Wysong.
I hope this information will not discourage people from adopting dogs from the South. Terrific people are working to save homeless animals down here, and these animals are so deserving of good homes. But it's important for their sake that people know up front what they may be dealing with. It would be tragic for all this work to go into rescuing all these animals only to have them euthanized in other parts of the country when a big vet bill looms for heartworm treatment. People need to know that just because their new dog may be diagnosed with heartworms, it does not mean acute treatment has to be given right away.
Whether or not the owner can choose the less costly, less invasive technique of waiting for existing worms to die off while preventing reinfection depends on the condition of the dog, the age and how severe the infection is. Dogs live for years with heartworms, although the longer they go, the more potential there is for heart damage.
Pass this around to anyone you think might be interested, and if anyone has questions, they can contact me. I'm not a vet, and this is not meant to replace a vet's advice, but I do have experience in this area.
Also, cats can be infected with heartworms too, and in this case, the outcome is very sad. Cats can't be treated (it has been done experimentally, but to my knowledge it's unavailable to the public), and one heartworm can kill a cat. As many heartworm-infected dogs as I've seen, I've only seen one cat with heartworms and this was in a feral cat in a horrible area. They make Hartgard for cats, and monthly flea killers such as Revolution that have Ivermectin-like drugs may also kill heartworms.
Terri Mitchell - grakus@i-55.com
Concerned Citizens