Destruction of the
immature stages
Last week, we concluded the article by saying that even after the adult heartworms in the right heart chambers (and elsewhere) have been killed by the series of arsenic injections, the problem is not over. The microfilaria (immature stages of the heartworm) are still circulating in the blood. The arsenic did not destroy them as it did the adults.
This, in itself, is interesting. Arsenic kills the adults, but not the young. I can’t explain this. Perhaps I missed this day in school. What am I talking about? When I went school there was no heartworm problem. No textbook of my generation refers to heartworm. So, whence did they suddenly arrive? And that’s not the only one. The Canine Parvovirus Disease (we’ll deal with this killer in detail at some later date) is another ailment that was not covered in veterinary school five decades ago.
Today, Canine Parvovirus Disease (CPvD) is a big time infection and receives immense coverage during the course of
