Imported GSD from Germany with heartworms - Page 2

No one said that there are not mosquitos in Germany. Anywhere where there are proper environmental conditions, in particular, water bodies and agreeable ambient temperatures, of course, there are mosquitos. However, the prevalence of heartworm infection in Northern and Central Europe is very, very low. Generally, a review of the vet literature suggests that where infection has been found in a dog, it has been in one of the areas mentioned below. Itis also not impossible that a dog lived in a given kennel that was imported from one of the endemic areas and a mosquito of the right species bit it and then carried it to another dog in the same kennel through a bite. Does this mean it is impossible for a heartworm infection to exist in a dog imported from Germany? Of course not. Anything is possible in todays mobile world and diseases which have previously been confined in one area of the world may end up showing up in another, assuming the vector transmitting the disease can survive. But one must be certain to check that there is not a false positive, that the infection is actually heartworm and not another parasite and figure out a plan to help this dog and her litter. Several species of filarial worms (Filarioidea) infect dogs and cats in Europe: Dirofilaria immitis, D. (Nochtiella) repens, Acanthocheilonema (Dipetalonema) reconditum, A. (Dipetalonema) dracunculoides, and Cercopithifilaria (syn. Dipetalonema) grassi. The parasites are transmitted by an arthropod, which acts either as an intermediate host and as a vector. Both Dirofilaria species are transmitted by different genera and species of mosquitoes. The species of mosquito transmitting Dirofilaria immitis does not live well in temperatures below 14C. Canine and feline HW infection is found mainly in the Southern European countries (Spain, Portugal, France and Greece, with scattered reports from Turkey and the eastern European countries such as Serbia). The parasite has been also diagnosed in northern France, apparently as a consequence of autochthonous infection (Cherburg area, a few degrees below 50°N latitude) 17. The largest endemic area in Europe is, however, along the Po River Valley in north Italy, between latitudes 45°N and 47°N. “Epidemiology and distribution of Dirofilaria and dirofilariosis in Europe: state of the art” 2003, Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi, Via Celoria 10, Milano, Italy. Of course, there are serious heartworm infections in the U.S., especially in the SE. The bottom line is that we do not have the entire story. We do not know when this dog was imported, nor do we know where the poster lives etc. But, if, as the poster suggests, the dog was imported before the parasite could be developing in the dog from a bite occuring here, then yes, there is a problem and I would think that the kennel in Germany would really want to look into this. I suspect that there is still more to the story than we all know, including the original poster. I think it does not take 6 months for a heartworm to produce others in the body, but I will have to check that.

Hodie, thanks for some very detailed information. I was merely dispelling a myth about the absence of mosquitoes in Germany before it appeared. It is true that the chance of heartworm infestation is much lower in Germany, than say, other parts of Europe. Not necessarily because of a lower mosquito volume, but because of the lower number of infected animals that can be bitten. It seems that the owner is asking the correct questions of his veterinarian before he takes it to the next step. He must still determine with much certainty when and where this could have occured. He definitely must speak to the importer and especially to the breeder, because that breeder may easily now have other dogs who are victims of the infestation if it indeed happened while the bitch was in the breeder's care.

Good luck Hillbillshepherds for a healthy happy litter with a good nurturing mom. I am sure that everything will fall into place for you despite any disappointments from the commercial GSD world. Enjoy the litter and pick your best puppy and keep him/her as your mermoir of how things turn good despite the odds.

Hodie, I will have you more info next 5/10/06 for now I can tell you this, Secondary tests have been done, and we will know specifics by Friday this week. The dog in question was paid for in full 3/30/06 prior to shipping .To our knowledge she was shipped to an airport in the Central USA the evening of 4/7/06. We picked our dog up from broker /Kennel on 4/8/06 He told us that there was NO need to take our new dog to the Vet, because it had been health checked by Vets in Germany and had a clear bill of health. We were uncomfortable with that, so we did take our imported dog to a very reputable vet 5/01/06. After all of the tests, the diagnoses was heartworms. On 5/9/06 was taken back for every test we know of and we are also going to a second vet for verification on 5/10/06. I also have a very good friend that is a vet and is researching into the heartworm incubation cycle ------- to the point of being tested and being found positive. (This is kind of like HIV or Hepatitis B or C. You can be exposed to it but it takes a period of time before it can be detected. We are located in the Central USA just East of the Mississippi river. I am not giving that name of the Kennel because we are trying to give them every opportunity to make this right. We are making every effort to get all of the information we can that is why I have been making the posts that I have. Thank all of you for your responses

All I can do is shake my head in disbelief wondering when you guys are going to stop being cash cows for brokers and European breeders. They must laugh all the way to the bank. Are there no good dogs being bred in the US?

HillBilly, You've gotten some good advice here. I offer my input only to offer hope that a dog can recover without issue from heartworm. My own expreince with a heartworm positive dog (raised in South Eastern US) was expensive treatment and complete recovery for the dog. There are any number of possible negative scenarios that can occur in a dog transaction, and one should ALWAYS confirm health of a newly purchased animal, with one's own vet. The seller that says don't bring a dog to your vet for a check is setting themselves up for serious problems, and is neither thinking of the dog nor new owner's well being. I import dogs myself. They are vet checked in Germany, and then again here by my own vet. When sold I also encourage the new owners to have their vet check as well. If a problem occured, it's nice to know it from the very beginning. I have recourse in Germany if needed, and am protecting myself as well as my customers. Months after the fact there are not too many things that can happen positive for the buyer or importer :-( It is possible the microfilaria are present in the bloodstream due to very recent exposure, and not necessarily from adult, breeding heartworms present in the dog. In that case the routine heartworm prevention will kill the microfilaria and prevent adult worms from becoming active in the heart. Did your vet treat for the filaria immediately to prevent full blown infestation? In theory, if one keeps a truly heartworm positive dog on prevention monthly, the adults will never successfully reproduce and will eventually die on their own. Good Luck! Sue-Ann

hillbillyshepherds, I certainly hope you can resolve this problem to your satisfaction. The bottom line is that you are doing everything in your power, first and foremost, to take care of the health issue of the female and hopefully the pups as well. If she were not pregnant, immediate treatment would be indicated, but as you know, treatment, especially when the worm burden is high, is very dicey. I think your vet is correct about the incubation period. What I read is 5-6 months before the larvae are there. So it does seem like something is certainly amiss. I can tell you this: that any reputable kennel would be concerned that they sold you a dog who is ill. And secondly, they should be VERY concerned about where this dog was, including in their kennel. Because the right species of mosquito being present could lead to other infections in their own kennel. Thirdly, if they imported the dog from Germany, then either this dog was somewhere else where heartworm is endemic, or they have a limited scope heartworm issue, or they do not know where the dog was previously..... Certainly, I would be hoping the kennel/importer would make it right - whatever that takes, regardless of whether it is heartworm or something else. I wish you very good luck with solving the problem. and Blitzen, yes, there are some nice dogs in the U.S. and I have some, but I also import dogs for myself and others and have NEVER had a problem because the breeder I deal with is ethical and extremely responsible. So it is possible to get dogs from Europe without problems. However, it does bring up another issue about people doing their homework. ALWAYS have your dog, regardless of whether you buy from an importer or a U.S. kennel, checked within a few days by your own vet. ALWAYs look at what the region you are importing from has in the way of disease burden and vectors. For example, I just imported three wonderful 10 week old pups from the Netherlands. They are given different vaccines there to cover Leishmaniasis and we do not have this disease where I live. But we have other viruses that were not covered in their vaccines. So I will have to re-vaccinate for them to be safe. As well, their microchip, using a universal scanner, only reads ISO with no number and so I will have to re-chip them here unless I can buy a European scanner. If you are buying a dog for breeding, you have to know everything about that dogs' reproductive health and history. Personally, I would not buy a dog or sell a dog to certain countries because they can not adequately care for the dogs and because certain diseases in these countries are endemic. When environmental conditions are right, eventually, we will see many more diseases here in our dogs that were not here before, and so will the countries that import dogs. If you import, also make sure you know who is transporting the dog and do not allow the flight to go on so long that the dog must be boarded somewhere, thereby exposing it to other dogs. There are a lot of things to know. And yes, again, there are some very nice dogs to be bought here in the states, but there are some very nice dogs to be bought in Europe too. It all depends on what one is looking for.

Hodie, you are right, do your homework when importing a dog. Someone like me should never do that on their own. I also understand that there is a need to import dogs from time to time. I just wish more would buy dogs bred here rather than think they just have to import to get a good dog. Not a week passes that I don't hear of or read about someone getting scammed on an imported purchase and then I have to wonder why that buyer didn't go to someone like yourself to buy their dog. It just make good sense to me to support domestic breeders; it can only be a win-win situation for all involved.

Blitzen, The part about doing ones' homework is the most important aspect of this. And seriously, if one is not experienced, does not speak the language, does not know the person/s they are dealing with etc., etc., there is always the chance that things will not go well. I do EVERYTHING I possibly can to educate people who come to me looking for a dog. I rarely breed, so I rarely sell my own litters and I am not a big importer in any sense of the word. I would much rather decline a sale if the individual wanting the dog does not do their homework, or if I do not feel they are a good match for a dog I have or the breed, than deal with consequences. Unfortunately, lots of people come to me after they have gotten screwed over, and frankly, most of the time, had they asked, I could have told them that this was what was going to happen. But it never ends, and I have simply given up. It is really impossible to educate most people and even more disappointing to find that most people really do not want or need a GSD, but would be better off buying a stuffed toy. People like you are rare in that they realize they would need help. You know I would always help you if you desired. regards, sharyn

I have a lot of information on heartworm at home (at work presently) but I did want to mention there is a VERY successful homeopathic/holistic option for treating heartworm that is way easier on the dog.