

In the United States, the popularity of pets together with high ascarid and hookworm infection rates in dogs and cats, especially pups and kittens, result in widespread contamination of soil with infective-stage larvae. Infection may leave children with permanent visual or neurologic damage. When the eggs are accidentally ingested, they hatch, and infective-stage larvae migrate through human liver, lungs, and other organs and tissues where they produce damage and induce allergic responses.

cati, can also cause disease in humans, although for reasons partly related to the “toilet behavior” of cats, it does so less frequently than T. canis, has long been recognized as a cause of larva migrans syndromes in children. The characteristics of the particular tissues and organs in which the larvae migrate determine the signs and symptoms humans have. When zoonotic ascarids and hookworms infect humans, the parasites rarely mature in the intestine rather, the larval worms migrate in the host’s tissues (larva migrans). The prevalence of these infections varies with climatic conditions however, they are present in all parts of the contiguous United States and must be viewed as a potential public health hazard. Furthermore, pups and kittens may have patent intestinal infections as early as the first 2 (hookworms) to 3 (ascarids) weeks of life, and may contaminate their environment with huge numbers of infective eggs and larvae. canis), and the tissue-migrating and early intestinal stages of these worms may cause severe, sometimes life-threatening, disease in the first few weeks of the animal’s life. Pups and kittens are often infected by transfer of larvae from their dams in utero (T.
SYMPTOMS OF HOOKWORMS IN HUMANS FROM DOGS SKIN
and Uncinaria stenocephala), the common intestinal roundworms of dogs and cats, can cause larva migrans syndromes in persons who accidentally ingest eggs or larvae or have direct skin contact with hookworm larvae in soil contaminated with the feces of infected animals. Ascarids and HookwormsĪscarids (Toxocara spp.) and hookworms (Ancylostoma spp. These guidelines address transmission of intestinal ascarids and hookworms from dogs and cats to people and recommend counseling of dog and cat owners and well-timed preventive anthelmintic treatments for pets.
SYMPTOMS OF HOOKWORMS IN HUMANS FROM DOGS HOW TO
How To Prevent Transmission of Intestinal Roundworms from Pets to People
