Cincy pet lovers: We're No. 1 for heartworm on a national tracking list - Cincinnati.com

Cincy pet lovers: We're No. 1 for heartworm on a national tracking list - Cincinnati.com

Cincy pet lovers: We're No. 1 for heartworm on a national tracking list - Cincinnati.com

Posted: 13 Feb 2019 12:00 AM PST

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Listen up, pet owners. The Cincinnati area landed in the No. 1 spot on a parasite disease list for dogs and cats.

The Companion Animal Parasite Council reports that over the last 30 to 45 days, Cincinnati had the highest percentage increase of positive heartworm test results in the nation.

This finding is from the CAPC Top 10 Cities Heartworm Report. The CAPC is the nation's leading source on parasitic diseases that threaten the health of pets and people.

Heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitos and is a national threat to pets, according to Dr. Michael Yabsley, a CAPC board member and college professor at several institutions.

"It takes just one heartworm-infected dog in an area to become a reservoir of infection, increasing the number of infected mosquitoes and ultimately spreading the heartworm parasite to unprotected dogs and cats," he said in a CAPC release.

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While mosquito sightings during a Cincinnati winter seem unlikely, they can occur.

Regardless of temperature, mosquitoes can thrive in sewers, stormwater drains, crawl spaces, alleys and other warm spaces where they survive and feed through winter months, according to veterinarian and CAPC Board of Directors President Craig Prior.

"There can be two feet of snow on the streets, but between high-rise buildings, it may be 50 degrees and wet —a perfect environment for mosquitos to breed," Prior said in a release.

When a mosquito bites an infected dog, it transfers the microscopic heartworm parasite to the next dog or cat it bites, according to the CAPC. It only takes one heartworm-infected dog to substantially increase the number of infected mosquitos that can transmit heartworm parasites.

How to protect your pet

To protect the family dog or cat from heartworms, the CAPC recommends all pets, no matter where they live, be tested annually and be placed on heartworm preventatives 12 months of the year.

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