What are hookworms and how does my pet get them?
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| Pretty freaky, right?! |
Hookworms are small intestinal parasites that are widespread in the environment throughout the United States. A dog or cat (or person!) may contract hookworms through ingestion of soil containing eggs, larvae or feces from other pets that have the worm. Your pet can also potentially get hookworms from eating mice, cockroaches and other small rodents and insects. Most importantly, puppies can be born with hookworms because they can be transmitted through the mother's milk. This is potentially the most deadly scenario, especially because a pup may have the worms for several weeks before signs of serious anemia (loss of blood) develop. Finally, both humans and animals can contract hookworms directly from skin penetration of the larvae in soil.
What effect do hookworms have on my pet?
Once ingested, hookworm larvae (infective babies!) travel around the body for a bit and when they have reached their final destination- the small intestine- they settle in and chomp down on a piece of the intestinal wall. They then inject an anticoagulant much like a mosquito, and drink your pet's blood. Each hookworm can detach from its feeding spot and search for another, leaving a bleeding ulcer in the intestinal wall. As you can imagine, a large number of these parasites can lead to severe, even life-threatening, anemia. Puppies and kittens are most commonly affected with an overwhelming hookworm burden and it is frequently in patients less than 6 months of age that we see the most severe anemia. If your pet also happens to be infested with a large number of fleas, this can further contribute to anemia and make the situation more dire. Frequently a blood transfusion is needed to keep the pet alive once they are severely anemic. Anemia in pets often manifests as:
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| Pale gums |
- Weakness/collapse
- Pale gums
- Inability or unwillingness to eat
- Confusion and abnormal behavior
How do I know if my pet has hookworms?
Unlike roundworms, the little spaghetti-like worms often seen in the stool of puppies and kittens, it is rare for adult hookworms to be seen in your pet's stool. The best way to know what parasites your pet is infested with is for your veterinarian to perform a fecal flotation test, where we mix a small amount of stool with a flotation solution that allows us to see the parasite eggs under a microscope:
Sometimes even with a fecal flotation test it is not possible to detect hookworms because there is a lag time, called the pre-patent period, between when your pet becomes infested with the parasite and when the parasite actually begins to produce eggs. Thus, we may see no parasite eggs under the microscope but the adults are still present in the intestines, working their deadly magic. It is best to assume that all puppies are infested with hookworms from birth and treat as such!
How do I treat my pet for hookworms?
A few very basic preventive measures can be taken to make sure your pet is free of hookworms and other intestinal parasites. It is always good to have your vet perform a fecal flotation test to see exactly what parasite(s) to treat for- not all parasite treatments (de-wormers) work on all parasites and a few parasites need very specific de-wormers to get rid of them. Puppies and kittens should be de-wormed with an appropriate medication for roundworms and hookworms at 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks-- this takes care of hookworms that have emerged from eggs that were produced weeks ago and are now susceptible to de-wormer. We recommend that all adult dogs be tested for heartworms and placed on a monthly heartworm preventive, which will de-worm your pet from month to month for all major intestinal parasites. LaFollette Veterinary Services carries Interceptor Plus, a monthly chewable pill that de-worms for all major intestinal parasites as well as heartworms. Pregnant dogs can also be treated with de-wormer roughly one month prior to giving birth to help reduce the newborn pups' worm burden.
Can I get hookworms?
The short answer is "yes." Although it is exceedingly rare in our modern day to come across hookworm infestations in humans, it is still technically possible to get these worms, especially for small children. The main thing of course is to make sure your children, especially toddlers and younger children, wash their hands after handling pets and playing with them on the ground and so forth. Basic hygiene and picking your pet's stool up from the yard can help prevent human and animal infestations.
If you're not totally grossed out yet, here's some interesting historical perspective on hookworms:
For further information about hookworms in pets, please see:
