I believe everyone is familiar with roundworms. Many people must have had them when they were children, and then they were cured after taking anti-worm medicine. Little did we know that dogs can also get roundworms, but they often don’t understand it after being diagnosed or are startled when the dogs pull out roundworms. Not only that, I believe very few people know the specific harm caused by roundworms.

The roundworms that parasitize dogs mainly include Toxocara canis and Toxocara lion. The former belongs to the genus Toxocara in the family Ascaridae, and the latter belongs to the genus Toxocara in the family Ascaris. Among them, Toxocara lionsis can also parasitize cats, but its infectivity to dogs and cats is low.

Toxocara canis is a common parasite of dogs that lives in the small intestine of dogs. It can also infect wolves, foxes, etc., and humans can also be infected. Male worms are 40-60mm long, and female worms are 65-100mm long. The diameter of the eggs is about 75-85um. Roundworms are a type of nematodes that require five larvae to develop into adults.

Roundworm eggs under the microscope

Life history:

Puppies under six months old: After the eggs are eliminated under the acclimation temperature, they develop into adult dogs in 4 weeks Infectious second-stage eggs (L2 with egg). After the infective eggs are swallowed by dogs, they develop into L2 (second-stage larvae) in the small intestine. L2 enters the lungs through the blood and molts to develop into L3. L3 passes through the trachea to the pharynx, and is protruded into the small intestine again. After two molts (L3-L4-L5), it develops into an adult worm.

Dogs over six months old: The worms do not undergo migration and development, but directly enter the bloodstream and enter the tissues and organs of the body, such as liver, lungs, heart, brain, skeletal muscles, etc., and inhabit them Formation of cysts (no longer developed, but infectious)

After adult female dogs swallow eggs and become infected, the larvae often form cysts in various tissues and organs. After the female dog becomes pregnant, the larvae in the cyst are activated by certain factors and infect the puppies through the placenta. Larvae can be found in the lungs of dog puppies 24 hours after birth, and adult worms are found in the small intestine 30 days later, and eggs are excreted. Most puppies infected through breast milk do not migrate.

Pulled roundworms

Harm:

Roundworms parasitize in the small intestine and rob the body of nutrients, causing nutritional deficiencies and stunting of the body. At the same time, it strongly stimulates the intestines and can cause catarrhal enteritis.

When the host's immunity is reduced such as fever, pregnancy, hunger or sudden change in feed, the parasites can enter the stomach, bile duct and pancreas, causing obstruction or inflammation, and causing damage to the corresponding tissues and organs.

The metabolites and body fluids of the insect body are toxic to the host after being absorbed by the host, causing poisoning of the hematopoietic organs and nervous system. Neurological symptoms and allergic reactions occur.

The migration of larvae will cause mechanical damage and space-occupying lesions to tissues and organs.

The simple impact of roundworms on the intestinal tract may not be very obvious, but if mixed with other intestinal parasites such as coccidia, it will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Among them, the most serious ones are small dogs. If they are infected with roundworms at the same time, the symptoms will be significantly aggravated. If the small dogs are simply treated, the effect will be very insignificant.

The impact of roundworms on the intestines

Symptoms:

It is more obvious in puppies. When the larvae migrate, they can cause pneumonia, manifested as coughing, runny nose, etc. 3 The symptoms may disappear on their own after a few weeks.

The main symptoms of adult worms are gastrointestinal symptoms, including indigestion, intermittent diarrhea, mucus in the stool, and sometimes vomiting. Occasionally there will be neurological symptoms such as convulsions

Diagnosis:

It is mainly based on clinical symptoms combined with pathogenic examination. Generally, the diagnosis will be made by checking for eggs in the stool or adult worms pulled or spit out by animals.

Prevention and treatment: There are many anthelmintic drugs, commonly used ones are:

1. Ascaridine: 100mg/kg? Take once orally, effective against adult worms. Double the dose to repel larvae in puppies.

2. Levamisole: 10mg/kg? Take once orally

3. Ivermectin: 0.2-0.2mg/kg? Take subcutaneous injection or oral administration.

(It is not recommended for Collies and dogs with Collie blood, as they are likely to be poisoned)

For roundworm infections, prevention must be better than cure. Because you have been infected with roundworms, the damage to your body may not be restored after treatment. For the prevention of roundworms, owners need to regularly remove internal parasites and maintain good environmental hygiene. Since people can also be infected with this roundworm, owners need to remember to wash their hands after playing with their pets, especially when coming into contact with other dogs outside. Good habits do more than just prevent roundworm infections. Many diseases can be avoided.