Development
of the microfilariae in the mosquito requires a temperature at or above 80 degrees Fahrenheit for about two weeks.
Testing for the
presence of microfilariae by reviewing blood smears is also used to detect early infection, the period before the adult heartworms has established residence in the arteries or heart and begun reproducing.
Development of microfilariae to the second larval stage (L2) and to the infective third stage (L3) occurs within the mosquito in ~ 1 - 4 wk, depending on environmental temperatures.
Microfilarial detection was accomplished most commonly in the past by the microscopic
identification of microfilariae on a direct blood smear, above the buffy coat in a microhematocrit tube (or capillary tube), using the modified Knott test, or after millipore filtration.
It is generally thought that concentration tests (Knott, filtration) are the most sensitive, because
detection of microfilaria in the blood is diagnostic for the presence of adults in the pulmonary arteries (BSAVA, 1998).
Approximately eight months after the invasion, cat heartworm begins to produce a new
crop of microfilariae that will live in the cat's blood for about one month.
There's two papers now, published by Dr. John McCall, a parasitologist at the University of Georgia, showing that applying a product which has insecticidal and repellent properties toward mosquitoes, was 100 percent effective at preventing the
transmission of microfilaria from infected dogs to the mosquitoes.
Sentinel and Interceptor provide a similar warning to Heargard about mild hypersensitivity reactions in a pet carrying high
levels of microfilariae.
However, starting prevention without testing can be harmful, because once the heartworms reach a certain point in development, the killing
off of the microfilaria in combination with juvenile or adult heartworm in the system can be damaging to your dog's cardiovascular system.
Performance
of a microfilariae test is recommended at the time the antigen test is performed (6 mo after the adulticide treatment).
Consequently, the search
of microfilariae by Knott or filtration tests is still strongly recommended in such places, preferably combined with serological tests.
Additionally, by repelling and killing mosquitoes, the topical parasiticide was more than 99 percent effective in blocking the transmission
of microfilariae from dogs to mosquitoes in this study.
This point - of - care device automatically captures and analyzes videos of microfilarial motion in whole blood using motorized sample scanning and onboard motion detection, minimizing input from health care workers and providing a
quantification of microfilariae per milliliter of whole blood in under 2 min.
The time lag between the initial
infestation of microfilariae and reproduction by adult worms living in the heart is six - to - seven months in dogs.
Many veterinarians prefer to do both tests as the
absence of microfilariae in the blood does not necessarily mean that there are no adult worms in the heart.
One additional but important difference in the course of feline heartworm infection as compared to that in dogs is the relative
lack of microfilariae.
Doxycycline as a novel strategy against bancroftian filariasis — depletion of Wolbachia endosymbionts from Wuchereria bancrofti and
stop of microfilaria production.
Immunodiagnosis involves looking for
antigens of microfilaria or antibodies against the microfilaria using monoclonal antibody techniques.
Unfortunately, this diagnostic method is unreliable due to the small
size of the microfilaria in relation to the large amount of blood in the bloodstream.
After the adult worms are killed, another drug must be given to rid the
bloodstream of microfilariae, which are not affected by the drug used to kill the adult worms.
Ivermectin treatment is successful in
removal of microfilariae, but does not kill adult worms, although the remaining female worms may become sterile.
Recent research indicates that controlling mosquitoes and their capability to feed on dogs can have a profound effect on both
uptick of microfilaria and transmission of heartworm in an area and transmission of heartworm to dogs from mosquitoes that are already infected.
Only two Dirofilaria spp. (immitis and repens) affect cats (Tarello, 2000a; Kramer and Genchi, 2002) and differentiation is mainly based upon the
morphology of the microfilariae (Tarello, 2001).
There's multiple
stages of this microfilaria worm that actually develops within the bloodstream and eventually localizes in the heart where it develops a full - size worm.
However, in stage one the disease has not yet progressed to the point where the heartworms will have produced a new
generation of microfilariae and dog's body will not yet have produced antigens in an amount sufficient for detection.
The milbemycin - based products will also do the same job but will kill the microfilariae much faster, which can create circulatory shock if there are large
numbers of microfilariae dying all at one time.
The samples for the differential
identification of microfilariae were fixed using 2 per cent formalin, filtered and examined by light microscopy at x10 and x40 magnifications.
Nonetheless, the
detection of microfilariae in the blood seems to be of significant diagnostic importance for the presence of adults in Dirofilaria infestations (Anon, 1998).
At approximately eight months after the invasion, heartworm in dogs begin to produce a new
crop of microfilariae that will live in the dog's blood for about one month.
There is more to transmission than just mosquitoes; it must also be warm enough for a long enough time period to allow the
development of microfilariae to infective L3's within the mosquito's body.
Answer: That is not ideal - if s / he is positive, especially with a heavy load, it can cause a massive die -
off of microfilaria / worms and be very detrimental to his / her health.
(ref) In 2017 There are many brands of monthly preventative that will kill heartworms before they take up residence in your dog's heart; but only one, Advantage Multi ® (because it contains moxidectin), is FDA - approved for the
elimination of the microfilaria that could conceivably allow the parasite larva to mutated and then transfer to another dog.
Three or four weeks after the initial treatment, your dog will need to be brought back for
treatment of the microfilaria; these are the baby heartworms.
In a recent research study, mosquito repellants / insecticides were found to be more than 95 % effective in preventing the
transmission of microfilariae to mosquitoes over a period of one month.
In addition to fewer opportunities for production (remember, only 1 - 2 adult worms are present, often of the same sex), the feline immune system is also very effective at removing
any of the microfilariae that are circulating in the bloodstream.
Dogs show no indication of heartworm infection during the six - month prepatent period prior to the worms» maturation, and current diagnostic tests for the presence
of microfilariae or antigens can not detect prepatent infections.
Since the primary method of diagnosis is detection
of these microfilaria, either visually, or with monoclonal antibody tests, it is possible to miss a diagnosis.
The anaphylactic shock reaction occurs most often when there are large numbers
of microfilaria.