The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-14
A WORM THAT KILLS DOGS.
FOUND Nv HAWAII AND A CHECK
TO CANINE DEVELOPMENT.

Secretary ~vredenburgh OF the american
Kennel CIub Learned OF the Pest At
Honolulu Nocturnal Mosquito Lays the
Egg and IL Is Tapped Up In water.
While In Hawaii to attend the initial bench
show Of the Hawaiian Kennel Club. A. P.
V~redenburgb learned Of a worm that kills
dogs. The dogs lap up the germs. which
ara believed TO be the larva Of a nocturnal
mosquito. in the drinking water. The
developed worms penetrate the heart and
cause death by choking up the blood pas
saae. The Hawaiian name is the heart
worm.' II is so prevalent that it is rare
for a dog bred on the islands to live until
three years DID. Beyond tina age a dog
In regarded as immune from the attacks
and old dogs Brought into the islands are
seldom the victims Of the heart worm.
Mr.. Vredenburgh is secretary Of the
American Kennel Club, which has control
over all American dog shows, and his trip
to the Pacific Coast and the Philippines was
a combination Of business and pleasure.
The discovery Of the pest that threatens
the perpetuation Of fine breeds of dogs in
Americas new possessions was a surprise
and a shock to him.
in commenting on the slim showing
Of puppies and young dogs at Honolulu
said Secretary Vredenburgh. Il first heard
Of tho heart worm and of the epidemic Of
which it is the cause, which is so ~virulent
with young dogs that TO raise one to full
growth is seldom possible. Before my de-
parture from Hawaii ! had an opportunity
Of making a personal investigation and
to verify the statements made to me.
"A night flying mosquito. harmless to
the inhabitants but most terrifying in APP
pearance to a visitor from the AtIantic
seaboard, il believed to deposit the eggs Of
the worm on the water that the dogs Shrink.
Tho pest ia said to have been brought to
the islands from japan many years g
and in that country to attack cattle and
horses, as we'll as dogs, but in Hawaii the
live stock is free from it's ravages.
The worm is supposed to hatch in the
stomach or intestines Of the dog and
when In the germ state. TO gain entrance
TO tho veins and by the blood canals to the
heart Here the worms cluster and develop.
with tho final effect Of killing the animal
by choking the main artery. IL In not
determined. ] believe. whether the worms
then die m their turn or pass into another
period Of life as mosquitoes.
Each worm is from two to four inches
IN length. white in color and without
apparent organs 81 any sort. They are
very thin. sav about the thickness Of a
small Knitting needle. and suggest bits Of
white Knitting silk. Tbsy are found in
clusts n Of eight or ten in the heart Of the
dead dog. grouped about the source Of
blood supply as fish gather at the inlet
90 Q pond. ] inspected the worm infested
hearts kept A. specimens in the museum
Of the local board of health. The experts
said that specimens Of the worm and similar
exhibits bad been sent for examination TO
the Government scientists at Washington
but thaSaa full Identification had not beef
made or any antidote suggested.
The presence Of the worm Is made known
Q dulness Of coat me eye. with an increas-
ing debility to the end. In company with
Or. /. Charleton Fitzgerald, an Irish vet
erfnarfan, ] visited the best kennels OF
pointers In Hawaii. The owner, a promi-
nent merchant, showed us a puppy he
knew to be Infected and asked the doctor
70 end les misery. The pointer had never
been outside OF the kennel and every effort
had been made 70 guard the dogs drinking
water frop pollution. which reveals how
'insidious d the approach OF the pest. I
raw the puppy killed by humane means and
wgtohed the subsequent autopsy. In the
valve Of the heart W. discovered the deadly
elueter OF worms, precisely n I had been
told"
Turning to more pleasant themes Secre-
tary Vredenburgh said that the dog show
vas IN the skating rink on Queen street,
Honolulu. on September 4, 7 and Z. The en-
penses were 500, more than had been an
dopoted, yet the show proved to Be q