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Dog heartworm disease is one of the most common parasitic diseases affecting domestic animals like dogs, cats and ferrets. The disease is caused by an infectious parasitic nematode, which is commonly known as heartworm.
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Discovered in the year 1856 by an American parasitologist Joseph Leidy, heartworm is a type of filarial parasite that lives primarily in the heart and large blood vessels of the lungs. It is a small thread-like worm that belongs to the family of Filaridae and is transmitted due to mosquito bites. Life cycle of a heartworm involves 5 larval stages. Heartworms cannot complete their lifecycle until the microfilaria pass through a mosquito.
There are no indications or visible symptoms of the disease until the parasite completes its prepatent period in the host. Heartworm infestation can result in serious medical complications which include difficulty in breathing, excessive coughing, jaundice, convulsions and disturbances in vision. Dogs become lethargic, lose appetite and seem to tire rapidly. Symptoms only appear when the disease has progressed to advanced stages. Heartworms restrict blood flow in the heart causing permanent heart damage, a fatal medical condition known as congestive heart failure.
It is very difficult to treat heartworm disease as the available chemotherapeutic drugs in the market are extremely toxic to the animal and are also not cost effective. Natural remedies using herbal preparations have been long touted as a useful alternative. Natural medicines concentrate on developing and strengthening the immune system of the host animal towards fighting against the disease. Some of the herbs used in the treatment include garlic, black seed, licorice, hawthorn, hops, sorrel, apricot, grapefruit seed extract, mugwort, clove flower buds, spearmint, turmeric root, black walnut and wormwood.
There are also homeopathic preparations for treating heartworm infection in dogs. Some of these include Paratox, Nosode, VRM2, Vitamin C, Parastat and Diatomaceous earth.
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