Hookworms?
We had our dogs for their annual physical and we brought in fecal samples.
Despite being on Interceptor year-round, Jack's sample showed a positive for hookworms. Apparently the monthly wormers are not 100% effective against hookworm because of their very short lifecycle. He was given Pyrantel to be given in three doses, two weeks apart.
Maddie was negative but they suggested treating her too because they potty in the same spots. The cat is indoor-only and we will bring in a stool sample for her before treating.
He was asymptomatic so I'm fairly sure this is not a severe case.
Question for all you sciencey types and those who have experience with this:
At what point is he considered "safe" and no longer contagious? I'll call my vet and ask but thought I'd see if anyone here knows. We gave him his first dose Saturday and I skipped agility with him today. The instructor thinks he won't have to wait til treatment is done, but the wormer kills the adult worms, not the eggs or larvae (which is why it needs to be given in repeat doses). So just wondering when he would no longer be considered to be shedding the worms.
I saw a few sites that recommend basically isolating the infected animal, but considering their prevalence that hardly seems reasonable. We live in an area crawling with feral cats and foxes (and quite probably coyotes), so it seems likely that the nasties are all over in the soil around here. But I do want to get him back to agility (he was very sad that I went without him tonight and worked one of the trainer's dogs; he pouted when I came home and laid down facing away from us while we ate dinner). I also want to get him back to the vet for some desensitization sessions.
So I'm just wondering when he'll be free to go back to his normal routine. I'll be honest here: I grew up in an age where it was assumed that dogs would have worms, and you just tested and treated and no one really worried. Wash your hands when you pet a dog, don't walk barefoot in areas where dogs are loose, and that's the end of it. Now it seems standards have changed (perhaps unreasonably so) and mention your dog has worms and people act like he's got the plague.... I come from a horsey background and every horse out there has worms (along with sheep, cows etc). You treat monthly to keep the load down and just don't worry about it. But as I said, now people seem to visibly shrink when you mention it.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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For those wondering (as I did) how a dog on dewormer can get worms, this is the best explanation I found:
" It is important to note that all canine dewormers currently available are labeled as being effective only against the adult stage of the worm. Within days of deworming, immature larvae that were migrating or present in the gut, but unaffected by the medication, will develop into mature adults and begin laying eggs again. Although it is possible to see eggs on a fecal examination, regular monthly doses of Interceptor or Sentinel are GUARANTEED to wipe out the new adults at the time of each dosing. The worms will not be able to establish themselves in a significant way within the pet, and the dog will not show clinical symptoms of hookworm disease."
From http://www.ah.ca.novartis.com/companion/dog/hookworm.shtml
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I think now days just like with germs....people tend to have a phobia about such things...occasionally Bella gets tapeworm from eating a rabbit. It happens. Not much we or anyone can do except like you did (take in samples). Hope Jack gets over his worms soon:)
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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How long Jack is infective just depends on the worm burden. Hookworm lifecycle takes 4 to 6 weeks. It also depends on how he got the hookworm, did he ingest them or did they penetrate his paw pads. The most common method is larvae penetrating the skin. In this case the larvae circulate in the bloodstream, then enter the lungs where they develop for a bit then are coughed up and swallowed where they enter the small intestine and then mature. So in a perfect world Jack would be isolated for 6 weeks unless he was given a medication that kills adults and ALL larval stages, in which case he may potentially be shedding eggs until the end of the course of medication.
However, if you live in an area where hookworms are abundant, I think it may be a little bit of overkill for you to have to isolate him. Obviously they are in the environment because he picked them up, and if it is known that there are feral cats, coyotes, and foxes its likely the soil is crawling with the parasite and if you just give jack his heartworm pill that should be sufficient. As long as the adults are killed he can not shed eggs.
Franklin got Toxocara (which is a roundworm) and I just gave him his monthly heartworm medication and rechecked his fecal myself every few weeks and it got rid of the infection just fine. So I'm sure jack will be safe to go out in public after just one dose of the medication.
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Thanks, that's what I'm thinking too. Weird thing is he had his inteceptor on the 4th and the fecal was positive on the 11th; we must have had some weird timing thing there. He then had pyrantel on the 13th, so between the interceptor dose and the pyrantel dose we must have knocked out any adults.
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Permalink Reply by Emily Trupiano on
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I would say he would be okay to go back to his normal routine after he's had a negative fecal. Maybe bring him in for another one in a couple months? I don't think he needs to be quarintined. At my work where we do dog rescue, while the dogs are being treated for worms, we just make sure we pick up the stool right away after they go outside. Then, we just squirt the area a couple times with bleach. In the future I would try Sentinel tablets.
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Interceptor and Sentinel are EXACTLY the same as far as the worm portion goes. The only difference is the added medication (lufeniron...sp?) to prevent fleas from reproducing. They are made by the same company and the internal parasite medication is milbemycin in both medications. However it is important with both of these to give the tablet with a meal or shortly after a meal otherwise they won't work as well.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I'm not that familiar with hookworm, but my dogs get tapeworm every summer and we never isolate them or anything...it never even crossed my mind to be honest. I just deworm them and carry on as normal.
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Yes, that was sort of my response but my agility instructor suggested we keep him off the agility grounds til he was treated at least. I guess I can understand, especially since other people sounded alarmed when they heard. Keep the class happy and minimize the risk. Mostly it's just young puppies and very sick dogs that are at risk of serious consequences if they are on monthly treatment; in healthy dogs, the monthly treatment keeps the load low enough so it does not cause a problem.
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Permalink Reply by Wind Dial on
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As clean as we think our dogs are, the same principle for horses, cows, sheep also applies to dogs, "they all have worms" at some point and to some degree. Most of the time a healthy animal will never show any signs and you remain oblivious to the fact. We have not won the war against internal parasites and never will as they are a very adaptive group of organisms. All we can do is treat it one battle at a time. The only way to ensure a dog will NEVER get worms is to isolate them their entire lives in a way that they can never come into contact with fecal matter, dirt, grass, dead bugs or any other organic type matter on top of medicated treatments. Not much of a life. I would also hazard to guess we humans carry more parasite than we'd like to imagine. Kind of gross but it's quite likely but our immune systems keep them from proliferating into a problem.
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Thank you. Well honestly that is my view of it too; I wasn't all that surprised that my dog had worms, more surprised by other people's reactions, to be honest.
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Permalink Reply by steve smith on
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I thought hookworms were something prostitutes got. Sorry I just had to.....
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