Tag Archives: mosquitoes

Here in the Northeastern United States, warmer weather means mosquitoes. The buzz around mosquitoes occurs because mosquitoes transmit heartworms. Dogs become infected with heartworms when an infected mosquito bites a dog. Heartworm larvae migrate through the skin homing in on the blood vessels of the lungs. Here the heartworms mature and reproduce, clogging pulmonary vessels

Last week I was a guest on Dr. Frank Adams’ monthly pet show on NYU Langone Medical Center’s “Dr. Radio.” One of the callers asked if heartworm preventative was really necessary in her dogs. She thought (incorrectly) that since she lived in an area where mosquitoes are uncommon, her dogs would be safe against heartworm