Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.pdf - Mr. Walnuts

acquire the disease by ingesting eggs passed in the feces of dogs. Since humans
are not the definitive host, adult worms do not develop. Instead, the larvae
produce large cysts in the liver, lungs, and brain. These cysts are called
hydatids, and they can cause serious illness and even death.
Echinococcus granulosus is found in the southern, western, and southwestern
United States—areas where sheep and cattle are common. Although dog-tohuman
transmission is rare, a number of human cases (presumably from eating
uncooked meat) are reported each year. If your dog runs free in a rural area
where this tapeworm could be a problem, ask your veterinarian to check her
stool for tapeworms twice a year. This species of tapeworm can be identified
only after the head has been recovered by effective deworming. Until a definite
diagnosis is made, a dog with a tapeworm that could be Echinococcus must
be handled with extreme care to avoid fecal contamination of hands and food.
Whipworms
GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES • 61
The adult whipworm is 2 to 3 inches (50 to 76 mm) long. It is threadlike for
the most part, but is thicker at one end, which gives it the appearance of a
whip.
The adult worm lives in the last part of the small intestines and the first
part of the large intestines, where it fastens to the wall of the gut. The female
lays fewer eggs than other worms, and there are long periods during which
eggs are not shed. Accordingly, finding eggs in the feces is difficult, even with
repeated stool examinations.
Whipworms can cause acute, chronic, or intermittent diarrhea in dogs.
Typically, the stool is mucoid and bloody. The diarrhea is often accompanied
by urgency and straining (see Colitis, page 276). Dogs with a heavy infestation
may lose weight, fail to thrive, and develop anemia.
Treatment: A number of preparations are effective against whipworms.
They include Panacur, Drontal Plus, Telmintic, and Vercom Paste. However,
it is difficult to attain high drug concentrations in the colon, where the whipworms
reside, and this makes them difficult to eradicate. To maximize success,
follow up the initial deworming with a second deworming three weeks later
and a third deworming in three months.
Prevention: Eggs remain infective in the environment for up to five years.
In areas such as public parks and backyards, where the ground has been heavily
contaminated with whipworm eggs, frequent reinfection is a common problem.
It is important to observe pooper-scooper ordinances and remove stools in
the yard every day. Dirt runs should be relocated and paved with concrete or
new gravel. Use household bleach in a 1:32 dilution to disinfect concrete and
gravel runs. It may be necessary to totally change the gravel in gravel runs.
The drug Interceptor, given to prevent heartworms, also controls and prevents
whipworms.