The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out

                                                                             

"Fred" & "Pete" Brickner have gone batty for Halloween

                                Halloween is fast approaching and with it comes thoughts of all things "creepy." This time of year also brings an uptick in creepy crawlers, many of the eight-legged nature.  Among our hospital team, I would venture to say up to 50% experience "arachnophobia,"  an irrational fear of spiders. In fact, one of my new roles has become stalking and euthanizing "wolf" and other spiders that my team members swear are "gargantuan," and destined to be on their person...

                                Before entering veterinary college, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology. This goal path made perfect sense for me.  I was and still am fascinated by all forms of animal life. This fascination carries over to insects and other creepy crawlers in, on and off all living beings as well.

                                Veterinary professionals are unique in that we are charged with caring for animals AND protecting people from "zoonoses" or diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans. Zoonotic diseases include, but are not limited to cattle tuberculosis, anthrax, bird flu, bordetellosis, cat scratch disease, leptospirosis, Lyme disease, Bubonic plague, salmonellosis, tetanus, scabies, and ringworm...just to name a few!

                                Then there is a whole list of "creepy crawlers" in the form of intestinal worms and  protozoans that animals expose their people to on a regular basis.  I cannot emphasize enough the importance of following through with a common, routine request by your veterinarian to collect a teaspoon -sized stool sample from your pet and take it with you to your pet's annual wellness visit.  In fact, I recommend stool exams, plus or minus administration of routine de-worming medication, every three to six months, depending on a pet's parasite exposure risks.

                                Pets with 'high" risk for parasite exposure include those that go or live outdoors, especially barn cats, and hunting, working or farm dogs. These pets definitely should have routine stool exams every 3-6 months AND be on heartworm and flea/tick control products, as recommended by a veterinarian, 12 months out of the year.  This can be as simple as feeding or applying a monthly topical preventive medication ALL YEAR ROUND...yet another situation where  an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

                                So what are these "creepy crawlers," and what can they do to humans?

                                The most common intestinal worms that infect pets include roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and whipworms. Humans may become infected with three out of four of these parasites courtesy of their pets. If left untreated, whipworms can be deadly for pets, but thank goodness, they do not seem to affect humans.

                                On the other hand, people do become infected by roundworms and hookworms by ingesting microscopic worm eggs in soil, on their hands or other objects, or through larvae burrowing under the skin. Think sandboxes, gardening, litter pan maintenance, outdoor stool patrol, walking barefoot and poor hand washing or hygiene.  

                                Pets may also be infected by three different intestinal tapeworm species: one that is transmitted by fleas (Dipylidium caninum), one transmitted by eating wildlife or raw/undercooked pork or beef  (Taenia), and the third by exposure to livestock  organs or dog feces (Echinococcus). Like pets, humans actually become infected with the Dipylidium tapeworm when they accidentally swallow a flea carrying the Dipylidum egg. This is an important reason to provide veterinarian-prescribed, safe and effective  flea and tick control medications for ALL pets ALL year round!

                                Protozoal infections transmitted by pets to humans include giardiasis and toxoplasmosis. Protozoans are microscopic, one-celled parasites that can be difficult to diagnose on routine microscopic stool exams because they are extremely miniscule, and because they may shed cysts into the stools of infected pets only intermittently. Human giardiasis patients will experience intractable diarrhea, dehydration and weight loss. (Unfortunately, I speak from experience!)

                                Toxoplasmosis, on the other hand, can be most dangerous to pregnant women. This protozoal infection is transmitted through cat feces and may cause serious eye or brain damage for newborns, or developmental, visual and hearing disabilities for children later in life. To prevent toxoplasmosis, pregnant woman should avoid litter pan maintenance, gardening without gloves and consumption of raw or undercooked meats.

                                Please, please, please...when your veterinarian asks you to bring a stool sample from your pet to its annual (or even better, semi-annual) visit, do just that!  These dreaded parasites can cause YOU to have uncomfortable, sometimes difficult to diagnose intestinal problems, serious liver disease, visceral or cutaneous larval migrans, and even blindness from aberrant migration of immature worm stages throughout your body. Don't let "the worms crawl in...or out," of your body!

                                Have a happy, safe, worm-free Halloween!

 

By Dr. Bonnie Jones 

Dr. Bonnie Jones is co-owner of Delphos Animal Hospital which she operates with her husband, John H. Jones, DVM.  She was valedictorian and Outstanding Senior Clinician of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 1985.