Treating Worms in Dogs to Prevent Damage to Human Health

In the UK our dogs are very commonly affected by one particular type of worms in dogs: roundworms. This is owing to their lifecycle which is incredibly hard to break. Indeed, the lifecycle more or less guarantees that puppies will either be born with an infestation of pick one up very soon after birth. Because this type of worms in dogs is so common and because it can actually cause severe damage to human health, treatment is absolutely vital.

Roundworms are either transmitted to puppies in the womb before birth or via their mother’s milk soon afterwards. Older dogs can also pick them up from contaminated faeces and soil. The larvae of this type of worms in dogs have the ability to migrate through the body’s internal organs, are coughed up and swallowed, allowing them access to the digestive system which becomes their home as they mature. Adult worms will then eat the semi digested food available to them in the intestine before releasing eggs to be passed out with the host’s faeces. Other larvae will form cysts in the dog’s tissue where they lie dormant. They become active again when the host is pregnant and infect puppies. Larvae lying dormant cannot be killed with worming treatment. This means that it is virtually impossible to stop round worms in dogs.

Puppies rather than adult dogs suffer the most: vomiting, diarrhoea, lack of energy and delayed growth are common signs. A classic symptom in puppies is a swollen stomach. In sever infestations, puppies may die from intestinal blockage.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment which can kill worm larvae, so each puppy must be treated regularly in order to finally be free of infection. In the environment, worm eggs can remain viable for up to two years so even adult dogs could pick up this parasite at any time.

This type of worms in dogs is even more concerning because of the risk it poses to human health. In humans, worm larvae are known to cause blindness as well as damaging the internal organs. It is children who are most at risk of picking up worm eggs from contaminated soil or sand because of their propensity to put dirty fingers in their mouth.