Hookworm can be picked up by pets that eat hookworm larvae from the soil. Certain species of tapeworm can also cause something called “hydatid disease” in people, where cysts grow in our organs, causing disease. It’s also possible for tapeworms to be transmitted directly from pets to humans we can become infected with the flea tapeworm if we eat an infected flea, although it’s unusual for this to happen. Humans can get a human-specific tapeworm by eating certain meat that isn’t cooked properly. Symptoms of a tapeworm infection can include weight loss and general malaise, although often animals will not show any symptoms at all, so it’s a good idea to keep up a regular worming schedule to help combat these unwanted passengers. This can lead to an itchy bottom in your pet, causing them to “scoot” along the ground in an attempt to relieve the itch. Small egg-filled segments break off and are passed out in your pet’s faeces – these are not alive, but remain mobile for some time, so you may see these tiny white segments that look like grains of rice crawling around the back end of your animal, or in its poo. Tapeworms are long segmented worms that live in the intestine. This condition, while rare, is obviously devastating and one of the reasons why it’s so important that our pets are regularly treated for roundworm.ĭogs and cats can become infected with tapeworm by swallowing infected fleas, from hunting or from scavenging (for example by eating uncooked meat).
If the larvae end up in the eye (a condition called ocular larva migrans), it can result in blindness. However in some cases the larvae of this parasite migrate within our bodies where they can cause severe symptoms. If we do end up accidentally swallowing roundworm eggs, our immune system may step in and tackle the problem. Young children are also at risk of infection playing outside in the dirt and not washing their hands well enough makes them prime targets for coming into contact with roundworm eggs. An untreated bitch and her puppies are estimated to produce around 15 million roundworm eggs daily, so people should be particularly careful with hygiene when handling puppies and kittens. People can come into contact with roundworm eggs from soil (where they can survive for years), from eating food such as salad that’s not been properly washed, or from contact with pets, as eggs can stick to a cat or dog’s fur. Roundworm can also cause disease in humans if we unknowingly eat the microscopic eggs that infected dogs and cats shed in their poo. Adult dogs may not show signs of infection, but puppies can have symptoms that are more serious, including a pot belly, vomiting and diarrhoea, and it can even be fatal in severe cases. Pregnant dogs can even pass roundworm on to their puppies via the placenta, so the majority of puppies are infected before they’re born. Dogs and cats pick up roundworm from infected soil, from hunting behaviour, or from their mother’s milk.
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