Your Pet's Worms can also Damage your Health

Your pet's worms can represent a health hazard to you and your family and friends if you neglect to take some basic precautions. Lets look at the most common offenders.

Hookworm

Hookworm (Ancylostoma sp) are distributed worldwide and are found wherever dogs and cats live.

Clinical Symptoms in Dogs.

They can cause anaemia(bloodloss), weight loss, loss of appetite, poor growth,bloody stools, coughing and localised skin inflammation, especially of the feet, legs and abdomen.

Clinical Symptoms in Humans.

They are responsible for a condition known as Cutaneous Larval Migrans. The larvae usually penetrate the skin from the environment (e.g. from soil that has been contaminated with faeces of infected dogs or cats!) The migration of the larval stages causes localised skin inflammation, especially in the lower leg region.The lesion can be extremely itchy and looks like a raised red track in the skin.

The condition can resolve over time but can also be treated with various anthelmintics (worm remedies) such as ivermectin. Consult a doctor for treatment specifics.

Prevention.

-Regular removal of dog faeces from the environment and avoiding contact with dog faeces and soil contaminated with dog faeces.

-Disinfection of Kennels etc

-Regular Deworming

-Basic Hygiene - washing hands after playing with the dogs and before meals, wearing gardening gloves when gardening etc.

Roundworm

Roundworm (Toxocara sp) are also distributed worldwide.

Clinical Symptoms in Dogs

Usually only dogs up to about 8 months old are infected, with most pups up to 3 months of age being infected. Symptoms include: Poor Growth, weight loss, pot bellied appearance, coughing, occasional vomiting, slimey diarrhoea with worms sometimes visible.

Clinical Symptoms in Humans.

They are responsible for a condition known as Visceral larval Migrans.This condition occurs most commonly in young children who are more prone to eating soil and/or practicing poor basic hygiene.

The larvae migrate from the gastro intestinal tract to the liver, then to the lungs and then get into the general blood circulation and can migrate to any organ in the body.

The symptoms experienced by the person depend on where the larvae end up in the body.Common symptoms include a fever, muscle pains, coughing, loss of appetite, blindness (usually only one eye) etc.

Visceral Larval Migrans can also resolve spontaneously but is often treated with specific worm remedies, often in conjunction with anti inflammatory drugs.

Prevention is the same as for hookworm.

Important !

Both types of larvae have to develop in the soil for a few days before they become infective. Humans thus do not get contaminated by direct human-animal contact.

However, the larvae can remain viable in soil for months, so environmental contamination can become a problem.