Guide to Preventing Parasites.pdf - Royal Canin Canada

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clinical signs associated with such infections are quite vague and can be attributed to various other causes. Furthermore, it is very difficult to confirm the diagnosis in the vast majority of cases, unless one actually finds the parasites per se, for example, during a biopsy. It is therefore not surprising that only the severest cases are identified. However, serological studies give reason to suspect that a large proportion of the population becomes infected (Embil et al., 1988). In the Halifax area, 14% of urban children under the age of 15 years have a history of infection, as do 19.5% of rural children. Although most of these infections are of no consequence, this is not true for others where vision disorders are permanent. A study conducted in Alabama estimated the number of cases of human ocular toxocariosis to be between 1 and 11 per 1,000 population (Maetz et al., 1987). Another study from Ireland, using more restrictive criteria, estimated the prevalence to about 1 per 10 000 population (Good et al., 2004). Table 13. Cases of human toxocariosis reported in Canada Number cases of Region Reference 27 Canada Tizard and Gyorkos, 1979 1 Saskatchewan Wong and Laxdal, 1958 1 Toronto McKee, 1957 1 Montréal Halal et al., 1975 7 Québec Perreault, 1978 18 Toronto Fanning et al., 1981 Fecal examinations in puppies and kittens are important for detecting protozoan infections, which are very common at this age. Children in close contact with young animals are at risk of infection. These animals should be screened and treated, when possible, and strict personal hygiene measures should be imposed to prevent zoonotic infections. The table below gives a classification of zoonotic species based on the parasites’ pathogenicity, their contagiousness for humans, and their prevalence in animals. This classification in quite arbitrary and is merely intended as a tool for targeting species that pose a higher zoonotic risk. Table 14. Classification of zoonotic species based on the relative importance Species Pathogenicity for humans 16 Transmissibility Prevalence in animals Total score Toxocara cati 3 5 5 13 Baylisascaris (skunks) 4 3 4 11 Baylisascaris (racoons) 5 1 4 10
Toxocara canis 4 3 2 9 Toxoplasma 5 1 3 9 Cryptosporidium 2 2 4 8 Strongyloides 4 3 1 8 Cheyletiella 1 4 3 8 Giardia 1 2 5 8 Sarcoptes 1 4 2 7 Ancylostoma 2 2 1 5 Fleas 1 2 2 5 Dirofilaria 2 2 1 5 Otodectes 1 1 3 5 Trichuris 1 1 1 3 Note : Each item is assigned a value of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest value. 3. Prevention There is an important public health dimension to parasite infections that is too often poorly defined. Many animal parasites produce elements that contaminate our environment for prolonged periods of time and that are quite transmissible to humans. Effective prevention should include the participation of different individuals at the regional level, both ordinary individuals and pet owners. Health specialists have a special role to play in educating people about the preventive measures that need to be taken. Even if these measures often make good common sense, in many cases programs that involve the use of drugs need to be implemented as well. It is important to have a good understanding of which groups of animals are at risk and to take appropriate action. 3.1 Prevention or treatment? Special attention should be given to an animal found to be infected or infested by parasites. The treatments should be repeated at close intervals, first to rid the animal of its parasites, then to restore it to health. As for prevention, its primary goal is to protect the animal’s health and the health of those around it over the long term. 3.2 The objectives of prevention The goals may differ according to the type of parasite. It is very difficult and probably undesirable to protect an animal so that it never becomes infected with parasites, since to achieve this, it would probably have to be medicated repeatedly and frequently. The objective of a prevention program is a more long-term result: prevent parasites from reproducing. This approach takes into account the fact that infections elements present in the environment can persist fore very long periods of time, even years; that they are very 17
Page 1 and 2: GUIDE TO PREVENTING PARASITE INFECT
Page 3 and 4: Contents 1. Species reported in dog
Page 5 and 6: Tapeworms Specific to dogs Specific
Page 7 and 8: Table 2. Canadian studies of the pr
Page 9 and 10: Capillaria spp. 0.1 0.9 Taenia spp.
Page 11 and 12: Table 6. Parasite prevalence in sam
Page 13 and 14: The total number of specimens from
Page 15: Table 12. List of canine and feline
Page 19 and 20: 3.4 A program tailored to our condi
Page 21 and 22: seem very reassuring, but at best,
Page 23 and 24: Table 16. Egg density varies accord
Page 25 and 26: Table 20. Recommended techniques fo
Page 27 and 28: Giardia > Y ++ + + Taenia = ++ + ++
Page 29 and 30: Special terminology is used on labe
Page 31 and 32: Sarcophagidae (myiasis) Ivermectin*
Page 33 and 34: Table 25. List of drugs and their m
Page 35 and 36: There is another type of study that
Page 37 and 38: eed and place of birth, we can expe
Page 39 and 40: infected animal’s health. Since i
Page 41 and 42: Table 27. Number of cases of canine
Page 43 and 44: - In cats, prophylaxis can be achie
Page 45 and 46: Imidacloprid 8 weeks 2 to 12 hours
Page 47 and 48: HALAL F, Lampron F, Viens P. 1975.

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