Heartworm and ferrets

[Forum Administrator]

Heartworm can be very serious in ferrets. Due to their small size, one worm is all it takes to cause serious problems.

Unfourtunately at this time there is no NATURAL heartworm preventative that is 100% effective against preventing heartworm.

During the summer months, its important to have a plan for mosquitos and heartworm. Even if your pet remains inside, they are still at risk for this deadly disease.

Here are some articles on heartworm and ferrets:

Heartworm basics (what is it, how is it transmitted, etc)

www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=11&cat=1290&articleid=544

www.smallanimalchannel.com/ferrets/ferret-health/heartworm-and-ferrets.aspx

A natural complement to allopathic heartworm preventatives:

www.justlabradors.com/forum/index.php/topic,48689.0.html

[Forum Administrator]

Here are some links provided to me by a member of the lab forum listed above:

From "Labs4me" of Just Labradors Forum:

The first link is the best one that I have found for "natural heartworm" prevention. The other links talk about a "safeheart" dosage for prevention of heartworms which is Intercpeptor used at a lower dosage to only control heartworms, no other worms. Hope that helps some.

www.healthyhappydogs.com/Heartworm
www.dogaware.com/HeartwormPrevention.html
www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/heartworm/
www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/1365.htm

[nwheather]

I did some checking, & heartworm is not a concern in WA state. I asked several vets, including some I had never been to, both ferret vets & non ferret vets. All said we don't have the weather conditions for heartworm to sustain here.
I am glad, as I want to limit the things I have to give to my ferrets.

[Forum Administrator]

Yes, the pacific northwest is pretty well known for having a VERY low record of heartworm cases.

[aleronferrets]

I have never used HW meds for my ferrets or cats. My understanding is that is would be pretty rare for either species to get HW. Does anyone have any information on just how commonly HW is found in ferrets?

[Forum Administrator]

My understanding is that if you live in an area where there are heavy mosquitos, your ferret (or cat) is just as much at risk as a dog of contracting heartworm. Heartworm in ferrets is especially serious because all it takes is one worm for serious problems to arise. While treating heartworm in dogs is possible and heartworm (for dogs) is no longer the death sentence it once was, treating heartworm in ferrets is very difficult (almost impossible).

My understanding is that if you live in an area that is not heavily affected by heartworm, that its okay to be more lenient with preventatives in your pets.

[aleronferrets]

Jun 1, 2008 12:06:54 GMT -5 Forum Administrator said:

My understanding is that if you live in an area where there are heavy mosquitos, your ferret (or cat) is just as much at risk as a dog of contracting heartworm.

My understanding is that if you live in an area that is not heavily affected by heartworm, that its okay to be more lenient with preventatives in your pets.

Well it is ok to do whatever you chose for your pets medically, even if it isn't the popular choice

I wish I could find some actual statistics for HW in ferrets. It absolutely is not as common in cats and even in high risk areas it is unusual to have a HW+ cat. It is not uncommon for shelters here to have HW+ dogs come in but HW+ cats have been very few and far between (I believe under 5 in 10 years at one place). I don't believe any of the DM ferrets were HW+ and they were housed outdoors year round in a fairly affected area. Obviously some ferrets get them but I have not been able to any info as to how at risk they are.

My dogs are on ivermectin part of the year and I generally spread their doses out more than the 30 days. WDJ ran an article years ago which said that you could stretch the doses out every 40 - 60 days and still offer protection against HWs. HW prevention is really not preventing the animal from getting HW but rather killing off larvae that the animal may already have, which prevents them from an infestation of adult heartworms.

[Forum Administrator]

I would be more than happy to try and find some statistics.....I'll do it when I get off work....night shift here I come....

[aleronferrets]

Jun 1, 2008 21:52:06 GMT -5 Forum Administrator said:

I would be more than happy to try and find some statistics.....I'll do it when I get off work....night shift here I come....

I found some on cats:

"Cats typically have fewer and smaller worms than dogs and the life span of worms is shorter, approximately two to three years, compared to five to seven years in dogs. In experimental infections of heartworm larvae in cats, the percentage of worms developing into the adult stage is low (0% to 25%) compared to dogs (40% to 90%)."
www.heartwormsociety.org/article.asp?id=16

"Problem is, the statistics on the rate of infection in cats varies widely and their interpretation is controversial. By some measures, the incidence of heartworms in cats is higher than 10 percent. Others argue the real number is far lower.
South Florida is often cited as ground zero for heartworm infection. Indeed, maybe 5 percent of my feline patients come up positive on the kind of screening test your vet probably performed."
www.miamiherald.com/357/story/473905.html

"Necropsies were performed on 630 adult cats in northern Florida to determine the prevalence and risk factors for heartworm infection in cats of this region. Heartworms were identified in 4.9% of cats, and serological evidence of heartworm exposure was present in 17% of cats. " www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/39/6/533

"The domestic cat, though an atypical host, can be parasitized by Dirofilaria immitis with resultant heartworm disease (HWD). The clinical manifestations of the disease are different and more severe in this species, but the infection rate is only 5–20% of that of the dog.(1) Experimental infection of the cat is more difficult than in the dog; <25% of L3 reach adulthood. This resistance is also reflected in natural infections, in which feline heartworm burdens are usually less than 10, and typically only 2–4 worms.(2) Other indications of the cat's inherent resistance to this parasite are a shortened period of worm patency, high frequency of amicrofilaremia or low microfilaria counts, and shortened life span of adult heartworms (2–3 years).(2) Nevertheless, studies have shown a prevalence as high as 14% in shelter cats(1) and a study performed at NCSU revealed HWD in 9% of cats presented with cardiorespiratory signs.(3) Furthermore, antibody testing showed 26% of 100 of these cats to have been exposed to HW.(3) Similar to dogs, the male cat is at higher risk for heartworm infection (HWI) than is the female. Aberrant worm migration appears to be a greater problem in cats than in dogs."
www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00037.htm

Interetsingly heartworms can also infect humans, although like ferrets and cats humans are an typical host.

"Pulmonary infection with D. immitis is an infrequently reported cause of lung disease in humans. Approximately 80 cases have been reported in the United States, with increasing numbers reported in recent years. The largest single series from one institution is a series of 6 patients from Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although our series consisted of 3 females and no males, the disease is detected and diagnosed in males twice as often. The usual age range is 40 to 60 years." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1784039

"Mosquitoes transmit heartworm, not pets. Humans are unnatural hosts for heartworm- therefore cases of infection are rare. " www.medi-vet.com/canineheartworm.aspx

Of course I have to wonder if drug companies decided to research and market HW prevention for humans, would we all be urged to take it even though HW infection in humans is rare?

[Forum Administrator]

I have heard that good diet is the best way to bolster the immune system and stave off parasites. This is my first year living in a heartworm heavy area with ferrets (I used to live in northern arizona where heartworm is like non-existant).

I havent got my crew on preventatives yet. I just dont know what i want to do. I am calling the holistic vet by me to ask about the black walnut tinctures. I dont want to put poisin in my kid's system unless it is vital. I feel so bad keeping them cooped up indoors. They want to go out badly but I just wont take them out until I have resolved this heartworm preventative dillema.

Thanks for the stats on cats. I wish we could find some on ferrets though, BUT even if we did it would be about KIBBLE fed ferrets. I am sure that naturally fed ferrets would throw a monkey wrench into the equation.

[aleronferrets]

Jun 2, 2008 12:51:08 GMT -5 Forum Administrator said:

I have heard that good diet is the best way to bolster the immune system and stave off parasites. This is my first year living in a heartworm heavy area with ferrets (I used to live in northern arizona where heartworm is like non-existant).

I am calling the holistic vet by me to ask about the black walnut tinctures. I dont want to put poisin in my kid's system unless it is vital.

With dogs raw feeding is not enough to keep HWs away, Christie Keith had a several generations naturally reared dog come up HW+ (she is in CA). Perhaps since ferrets are not a normal host for HWs though, it'd be enough for them. Most of the cat information I read suggested that with most cat's their immune systems will get rid of the HW larvae before they can mature, which is why HW is not nearly as common in cats as dogs. The larvae do not navigate as well in cats because cats are not their natural host and I believe that is what allows cat's to have a natural defense against them.

As for the black walnut stuff, I'd probably just stick with regular HW prevention if you want them on something. Black walnut is itself fairly toxic and it's purpose would be the same as any of the conventional meds - kill larvae in the system. My dogs are on ivermectin instead of a "natural" HW prevention for that reason combined with the natural options are not proven to keep them HW free.

[Forum Administrator]

Hmmmm....maybe your right. I think I'll pass on the black walnut. Ugh, I just dont know what to do. Weighing the benefits and risks of preventatives vs. no preventatvies.......

[aleronferrets]

Jun 3, 2008 21:12:11 GMT -5 Forum Administrator said:

Hmmmm....maybe your right. I think I'll pass on the black walnut. Ugh, I just dont know what to do. Weighing the benefits and risks of preventatives vs. no preventatvies.......

It really is something that each person has to decide for themselves. You really should check out the BeyondVaccines email group - lots of good info on there! Sometimes I think that ignorance really was bliss - how easy to just do as the vet said and feed all of my pets their own specially formulated cereal foods. Food labels, supplements, overvaccination, overmedication, raw food, homecooked and all that stuff never entering my mind. the more you know the harder your choices become. I try to be open minded when considering new options and not to make my choices based on scare tatics from either side (things such as "if you don't vaccinate your ferret will die!" or "vaccines will kill your ferret!" are equally poor arguements for their causes).

I actually choose not to vaccinate or use HW prevention with the ferrets or cats at all. The cats have had vaccinaes as kittens but are both older now. The only vaccinated ferrets I have are the petstore ones and none are current. I do, however vaccinate my dogs as puppies, give 3 year rabies vaccines until about 8 years old and use HW prevention spring thru fall. I use Frontline for everyone if we get fleas. I went two years without having to use any Frontline (no fleas!) but had to use it several times last year on everyone. I guess my point is that everything needs to be considered on an individual basis. Not all my animals are as "natural" as others and when needed the icky, unnatural stuff may be called for in some situations

[josiesmom]

Here is a decent article on heartworms in ferrets and some pretty convincing photographs. I live in Florida, heartworm and other parasites IS a concern of mine that I take seriously. Which is why I use Revolution. It does a fine job on other parasites besides heartworm, like ear mites, fleas, mange and even dog ticks!

Besides a harness, its the only UNnatural thing I use on them! SO far so good.

But I am interested in that article's descritption of using a dilution of injectable ivermectin. Especially too, since the Florida Ferret Forum had a vet speak about heartworms in ferrets.

Cheers,
Kim

[aleronferrets]

Jun 5, 2008 14:45:53 GMT -5 josiesmom said:

But I am interested in that article's descritption of using a dilution of injectable ivermectin. Especially too, since the Florida Ferret Forum had a vet speak about heartworms in ferrets.

Cheers,
Kim

That is what I use for my dogs, if ferrets can have ivermectin there is no reason it wouldn't be able to be used on them as well. It is "injectable" but you can also give it by mouth. IMO it is a better bet than something like Revoltion which IMO must be pretty strong stuff to kill so much.