Practice News
Lungworm in dogs -owners guideTuesday 23rd September, 2008
There are many parasitic worms that dogs can catch and vets spend years at vet school learning the intricacies of their lifecycles. One worm that has been gaining more publicity recently is Angiostrongylus Vasorum or the Lungworm. This roundworm or Helminth was until recently a rare infection with areas of Wales and south-west England usually affected but areas around London and in particular Surrey are now seeing more and more cases.
The infection is caught from eating a molluscan intermediate host – snails or slugs to you and me, although frogs can also carry it. Dogs cannot get the infection if they do not do this. Parasite lifecycles are peculiar in that they are usually very specific. The parasite eggs pass out in the dogs faeces and are consumed by the snail/slug. The parasite then develops through several stages called moults to get to a stage that is then infective if another dog consumes the snail/slug. When a dog eats it, the parasite crosses the intestinal wall and then migrates to the liver and eventually to the heart and pulmonary arteries.
This is where the adults reside, so the adult worms are not actually in the lungs themselves. However, the adult worms produce eggs and these travel to the lungs and hatch out. These larvae are then coughed up and swallowed and eventually end up in the faeces again to complete the cycle.
Dogs with lungworm develop coughing, shortness of breath, depression and sometimes weight loss and diarrhoea. They can also have bleeding problems such as nose bleeds and bruising. Diagnosis is very difficult and usually requires faecel samples on 3 consecutive days to find the worms coupled with clinical signs and relevant history.
Treatment is possible and can be as simple as applying a topical “spot on” to the dog. Some cases can be more severe and require more aggressive therapy. The infection is still quite rare but if your dog eats snails/slugs, there is a risk and this should be discussed with your vet. Obviously the best treatment is prevention but this can be hard, particularly in young inquisitive dogs! There are many other worm infections and many other more common diseases so do not worry, but if your dog develops any of the signs or is seen eating snails/slugs, contact your vet for advice.
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