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What are the symptoms of hookworm disease in dogs and how to treat it

Dog Medicine
Hookworm disease in dogs is a parasitic infection caused by hookworms that live in the small intestine. Common symptoms include weight loss, anemia, diarrhea and skin problems. Treatment usually requires the use of specific anthelmintic drugs, along with maintaining a clean housing environment and regular deworming to prevent recurrence and spread of the disease.

Hookworm Infection in dogs is caused by nematodes of the genus Ancylostoma and Ancylostoma (mainly Ancylostoma caninum and Uncinaria stenocephala), which parasitize the small intestine of dogs, especially the 12 Parasitic diseases caused by the intestinal tract.

The following is a detailed description of hookworm disease in dogs:

1. Pathogens:

Hookworm: a small nematode, the adult worm is about 1-2 cm long, and has a hook-like structure in the mouth, which facilitates attachment to the intestinal wall and sucks blood.

2. Life history and transmission routes:

Direct transmission: Infection through skin contact or oral and nasal ingestion of soil, food or water contaminated with eggs or larvae.

Breast milk transmission: Canine hookworms can be transmitted directly to newborn puppies through colostrum.

Placental transmission: The larvae of Ancylostoma can cross the placenta, causing puppies to be infected at birth.

3. Clinical symptoms:

Puppies: Symptoms are severe, including anemia, weight loss, growth retardation, abdominal distension, loss of appetite, weakness, pale mucous membranes, and even death.

Adult dogs: Mild infections may have no obvious symptoms. Severe infections may cause anemia, weight loss, loss of appetite, melena (due to gastrointestinal bleeding), malnutrition, rough hair, pale skin, etc.

4. Complications:

Severe anemia: Because hookworms suck blood, it may cause severe anemia in dogs, which is especially harmful to puppies.

Skin lesions: Some larvae can penetrate the skin and enter the body, causing itching, erythema, papules, etc.

5. Diagnosis:

Stool test: A fresh stool sample is examined under a microscope to look for hookworm eggs.

Clinical symptoms and medical history: Combine the dog’s clinical manifestations, age, living environment and feeding conditions.

6. Treatment:

Drug treatment: Use anti-hookworm drugs prescribed by veterinarians, such as ivermectin, milbemycin, albendazole, mebendazole, etc., and administer according to body weight and product instructions.

Repeated treatment: Due to the short hatching cycle of eggs, it may be necessary to administer the drug again at intervals (such as 2-4 weeks) to eliminate newly hatched larvae.

Supportive treatment: for dogs with severe anemia, blood transfusion or supplementation of iron, vitamin B12, etc. may be needed to improve nutritional status.

7. Prevention:

Regular deworming: Deworm your dog regularly as recommended by your veterinarian, usually every 3 months, or according to the instructions for use of your chosen deworming product.

Environmental hygiene: Keep the dog's living environment clean, avoid feces contaminating the soil, and reduce the breeding of insect eggs.

Isolation of newly-introduced dogs: Newly-introduced dogs should be isolated for observation and dewormed to prevent the introduction of sources of infection.

To sum up, dog hookworm disease is a parasitic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Ancylostoma and Campylostomia of the family Ancylostomia that parasitize in the small intestine. It is mainly transmitted through direct contact, breast milk and placenta. The symptoms of puppies are severe. Often manifests as anemia and weight loss. The main treatment is drug deworming, and preventive measures include regular deworming, maintaining environmental hygiene and isolating new dogs. Once you find that your dog has related symptoms or hookworm eggs are found in a fecal examination, you should seek medical treatment in time.

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