Mosquitoes have long posed a worldwide threat as harmful vectors of disease in humans. They are often front and center in headlines warning about health crises including Zika, West Nile, and Malaria, to name a few. Dogs and cats are no exception and are also at risk for mosquito borne pet illnesses and parasites.
Here are the most common mosquito borne illnesses that can affect your beloved pet and ways to prevent your pet from contracting them.
Most Common Mosquito Borne Pet Illnesses & How To Protect Your Pet
Heartworm Disease
Heartworm Disease is by far the most prevalent and deadly mosquito borne disease in dogs. Heartworm has been documented in all 50 states1 and in many countries, including Italy, South America, Australia and Japan2. Cats are much less affected than their canine counterparts but can also contract this potentially life-threatening parasite if exposed to an infected mosquito.
Heartworms are a species of worm called Filarids, specifically the nematode Dirofilaria immitis. This parasite requires a host, the mosquito, to transmit the infectious larval stage from animal to animal. Thus, mosquitos are instrumental in the spread of Heartworm Disease.
The adult worms prefer to reside in the arteries of the lungs and in the chambers of the heart. Without treatment, the condition can be fatal, causing irreversible damage to the heart and lungs, and resulting heart failure.
How to Prevent Heartworm
An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure when it comes to heartworm disease. Monthly oral prescription veterinary heartworm preventatives are very effective, when given correctly, at keeping your pets from contracting this disease.
West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus is a potentially life-threatening mosquito borne disease found in pet birds and horses. Fortunately, it rarely causes illness in dogs or cats. The reservoir host for this RNA virus is wild birds. The bite of an infected mosquito can cause rapid death in pet birds and meningoencephalitis (inflammation in the brain) in horses.
Dogs and cats can be exposed and can create antibodies to West Nile, but also appear more resistant to the disease than people, horses, and birds. There is limited information on infection since natural infection has rarely been reported in both dogs and cats.
Illness is usually self-limiting in cats and dogs, but if your pet is sick enough to warrant a call to your local veterinarian, then treatment can be beneficial.
Tularemia
Tularemia is a bacterial disease usually transmitted through handling game animals or exposure to wild animals, but mosquitoes can also be an important vector for this illness. This is especially true in Europe.
Cats are much more susceptible to Tularemia and can exhibit a wide range of clinical signs, including fever, lethargy, abscesses, loss of appetite and even fatal septicemia. Dogs rarely become ill, and infections are rare. However, when infections do occur, dogs tend to have brief periods of lethargy and anorexia that typically resolve on their own.
If your pet is sick enough to require veterinary treatment, both supportive care and antibiotics should be considered. This disease can be prevented by limiting exposure to wildlife and mosquitos.
Mosquito Prevention
The Center for Disease Control has excellent recommendations for decreasing the number of mosquitos around your home, including eliminating areas of standing water, which mosquitos use to breed3.
Additional ways to keep your pets safe include avoiding certain times of day and areas with high prevalence of mosquitos and keeping cats indoors.
Mosquito Repellents
DEET, the most common active ingredient in insect repellents, has the potential to cause neurologic symptoms in pets, including tremors, shaking and even seizures. Therefore, it is not recommended for use on dogs or cats.
There are some flea and tick products available through your pet’s veterinarian that can act as mosquito repellents, specifically ones containing permethrin. This can be applied topically or worn as a collar. However, permethrins are very toxic to cats too and should never be used on them. Cats pose a particular challenge for topical repellents since they tend to be fastidious groomers; anything placed on them will soon be in them.
The best prevention for heartworm disease is a heartworm preventative. These work not by targeting the mosquito, but by targeting the microfilaria (larval stage) of the heart worm. Since no one mosquito repellent is 100% effective (anyone camping by a lake can attest to this!), using a preventative is crucial to protecting your pets from this disease. Pets Best routine care and pet wellness coverage plans include heartworm prevention and testing, so make sure your pet is covered and able to receive preventative care to avoid these deadly illnesses.
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1American Heartworm Society, www.americanheartwormsociety.org
2Companion Vector-Borne Diseases, www.cvbd.elanco.org
3Center for Disease Control, www.CDC.gov