Post by amyjo on Apr 15, 2004 17:15:34 GMT -5
For those of us who are modifying the scheduled dosing of heartworm perventative - it seems that we might not have to start as early in the year as we thought....Especially those of you "up north".....
Taken from the American Heartworm Society web page - This was written for the vets and not us lowly ones - funny my vet never explained this to me.... Do they really think people in general are so stupid that they have to OD our pets on everything rather than just EXPLAIN? Urgh!
Anyway you can find this at heartwormsociety.org but I'll paste below the stuff I am ranting about:
[A climate that provides adequate temperature and humidity to support a viable mosquito population, and also sustain sufficient heat to allow maturation of ingested microfilariae to infective, third-stage larvae (L3) within this intermediate host is a pivotal prerequisite for heartworm transmission to occur. Laboratory studies indicate that development and maturation requires the equivalent of a steady 24-hour daily temperature in excess of 640F (180C) for approximately one month. Intermittent diurnal declines in temperature below the developmental threshold of 570F (140C) for only a few hours retard maturation, even when the average daily temperature supports continued development. At 800 F (270 C), 10 to 14 days are required for development of microfilariae to the infective stage.
The length of the heartworm transmission season in the temperate latitudes is critically dependent on the accumulation of sufficient heat to incubate larvae to the infective stage in the mosquito. The peak months for heartworm transmission in the Northern Hemisphere are July and August. Algorithmic predictions based on analysis of historical temperature records have consistently overestimated actual transmission periods confirmed independently by a variety of field studies and appear to represent conservative guidelines. Under the most favorable conditions, these estimates range from less than four months in southern Canada to potentially all year in the subtropical zones of southern Florida and the Gulf Coast. The model predicts that heartworm transmission in the continental U.S. is limited to six months or less above the 37th parallel, i.e., Virginia-North Carolina State line.]
**So the way I understand this is you can give your first dose approximately 2 mos (or 2.5 following the 45 day dealio) after the last time the temp dips below 57!
So if I play it safe and say that is today (which it won't be) then I am not giving my first dose till July.
My dosing plan goes:
Early July
Mid August
Early October
Mid November
Sorta make you go hmmmmmm
Taken from the American Heartworm Society web page - This was written for the vets and not us lowly ones - funny my vet never explained this to me.... Do they really think people in general are so stupid that they have to OD our pets on everything rather than just EXPLAIN? Urgh!
Anyway you can find this at heartwormsociety.org but I'll paste below the stuff I am ranting about:
[A climate that provides adequate temperature and humidity to support a viable mosquito population, and also sustain sufficient heat to allow maturation of ingested microfilariae to infective, third-stage larvae (L3) within this intermediate host is a pivotal prerequisite for heartworm transmission to occur. Laboratory studies indicate that development and maturation requires the equivalent of a steady 24-hour daily temperature in excess of 640F (180C) for approximately one month. Intermittent diurnal declines in temperature below the developmental threshold of 570F (140C) for only a few hours retard maturation, even when the average daily temperature supports continued development. At 800 F (270 C), 10 to 14 days are required for development of microfilariae to the infective stage.
The length of the heartworm transmission season in the temperate latitudes is critically dependent on the accumulation of sufficient heat to incubate larvae to the infective stage in the mosquito. The peak months for heartworm transmission in the Northern Hemisphere are July and August. Algorithmic predictions based on analysis of historical temperature records have consistently overestimated actual transmission periods confirmed independently by a variety of field studies and appear to represent conservative guidelines. Under the most favorable conditions, these estimates range from less than four months in southern Canada to potentially all year in the subtropical zones of southern Florida and the Gulf Coast. The model predicts that heartworm transmission in the continental U.S. is limited to six months or less above the 37th parallel, i.e., Virginia-North Carolina State line.]
**So the way I understand this is you can give your first dose approximately 2 mos (or 2.5 following the 45 day dealio) after the last time the temp dips below 57!
So if I play it safe and say that is today (which it won't be) then I am not giving my first dose till July.
My dosing plan goes:
Early July
Mid August
Early October
Mid November
Sorta make you go hmmmmmm