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by nonacona60 on 12 January 2010 - 15:01
During a group conversation about the worming of dogs, we talked about heartworms. Someone said that if a dog that has heartworms coughes and spits up the foamy white stuff, it can be transmitted to another dog if that dog would lick the spit-up. They said that the spit-up contains larve. I have never heard of this before, but didn't pass any comment since I have no knowledge or experience with this sort of thing. Living in south Louisiana, I always make sure heartworm as well as other worm preventatives are always on schedule. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this or not..?
by hodie on 12 January 2010 - 16:01
Heartworms can only be transmitted from one animal to another by mosquitoes. This occurs because adult worms produce microfilariae (small, immature heartworms) found in the blood of infected dogs. The mosquito ingests these heartworm microfilariae when biting an infected host (such as a dog). The microfilariae then develop in the mosquito into "infective larvae" and are deposited with saliva on the dog's skin as the mosquito is feeding. The infective larvae pass through the skin and migrate through the body tissues. Is it possible that a dog licking a dog who was just bitten by a mosquito that deposited saliva and microfiliariae on another dogs skin would then contract heartworm? Possible, but there is no proof that this has ever occurred. The important thing is that where you live, it is critical to use preventatives correctly (meaning the proper dose which is often given on forums like this incorrectly) and on an appropriate schedule as you say you do.
There are parasites that can be ingested from saliva, lungworm being one, but this is rare. There are also parasites, of course, that are transmissible between humans and animals, including dogs, and vice versa. These are referred to as zoonotic diseases. But that is a whole different topic.
Good reference sites:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/11300.htm&word=heartworm
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/hartw.htm
https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/heartworm.htm
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