What You Need To Know About Worms

There are four types of intestinal worms that are common in dogs: roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and whipworms.  Only roundworms and tapeworms are common in cats.  Roundworms are long spaghetti-like worms that are occasionally seen in bowel movements or vomitus.  Tapeworms are flat, segmented worms. The segments may look like “grains of rice” in the animal’s hair around the rectum, in bedding or in bowel movements.  Hookworms and whipworms are detected only by their microscopic eggs passed in the stool.

Symptoms of a Parasite Infection

Worms cause a variety of symptoms depending on the type and severity of the infection.  These can include:  diarrhea, vomiting, cough, dull hair coat, pot-belly and anemia.  “Scooting” or dragging the hind end is a sign of itchiness.  It is usually associated with impacted anal sacs but occasionally with tapeworm infection.

How Do Pets Get Worms?

Worms are not spread by direct contact with an infected dog or cat.

Intestinal parasites are spread by ingestion of the parasite eggs, which are passed in the stool of an infected animal.  Sniffing the ground, eating grass, or even walking through an area containing parasite eggs and then licking their feet can lead to a parasite infection.  Puppies and kittens can get parasites directly from their mother during development or through the milk. Tapeworms are different in that their life cycle require an intermediate host.  They are contracted either by ingesting an infected flea or by eating an infected animal, such as a mouse or rabbit.  We recommend that puppies and kittens be checked for worms early and frequently.

Can Family Members Get Worms From a Pet?

Roundworms and hookworms are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted to people, but not directly by petting or handling an animal.  Eggs that are passed through the stool must be ingested.  On rare occasions, children have been infected by roundworms by eating soil that has been contaminated by roundworm eggs.  Hookworms can cause a skin-irritation when active larvae come in contact with feet, often from walking bare foot in the summer months.  Avoid ingestion of soil by washing garden vegetables and hands before eating.

How Are Worms Controlled?

Regular fecal examinations performed by a veterinarian are the only reliable way to detect the presence of intestinal parasites.  Identifying the type of parasite infection is important to determine proper medication.  Unfortunately, tapeworms are not often detectable in stool samples.  They are frequently diagnosed by the presence of segments on the animal’s fur.  Once parasites are identified, appropriate medication can be administered.  Generally, several treatments are needed to completely eliminate the parasite. There are preventative medications that can be given monthly to help prevent intestinal parasite infection.  These are mainly used as preventatives for heartworm disease, but can also be used to control intestinal parasites.  Garlic, brewer’s yeast, Hartz “Once a Month” dewormer and other over-the-counter or home remedies are not effective.  It takes 1-3 weeks for parasite eggs that are passed by an infected animal to develop to the stage where they are infective to another animal.  Frequent cleaning of the yard and proper disposal of stool (at least twice a week) is an important step in parasite control.  If dogs are tied or penned in the yard, they should be moved to a different area of the yard if possible to avoid re-infection. Once the eggs are present in the soil, they can persist for years and are practically impossible to eliminate. 

Mongolia Matters #2

There is so much knowledge and skill that we long to share with the veterinarians, students and pet owners here in Mongolia. We are doing our best each day to impart some nuggets of knowledge, some pearls of wisdom into those willing to learn. The Mongolian people are sharp and catch on quickly; it is the opportunity for quality education and experience that they are lacking.

We have been taking every opportunity to teach, sometimes one on one to veterinarians consulting about a case. There have been multiple cases of various kinds of trauma. Helping them learn to read x-rays is important, as at the Mongolian veterinary school, they don’t even have an x-ray machine. Finding alternative ways to treat conditions is another important thing. The medications available in this country are very limited, partly by government regulation and partly due to cost. On line ordering from a pharmacy for delivery is not available. One day we were attempting to locate insulin to treat a newly diagnosed diabetic poodle. So far, insulin has not yet been found even at the human pharmacies! Unfortunately, there isn’t an alternative treatment. It’s hard to accept, because in America, we take so much for granted as being readily available.

We both enjoy it when there is opportunity to teach a group of student interns or everyone in the clinic who is available. We have taught how to obtain a good history and perform a thorough physical examination, basic microscope care and usage, blood film preparation and film reading, obtaining cytology samples from growths, and introduction to the usage of ultrasound.  We have been working with the Chief Veterinarian, Lead Veterinarian and the Office Manager to develop standards for training procedures, evaluating staff, team building and marketing the clinic. The best teaching opportunities involve the whole V.E.T. Net staff when we each have had the opportunity to share a Bible lesson and our personal testimony about God’s graciousness to us. Next week we will get to share about working with your spouse in business, a subject we know extremely well after 34 years of married life!

Each day that we have assisted one of these wonderfully hospitable people here in Mongolia, we feel grateful to be part of God’s plan for the greater good in the world. Jesus was asked which the most important commandment was. Jesus answered, “The most important is, Hear of Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31

Mongolia Matters

Many have asked us, “Why Mongolia?” as we have divulged our current travel adventure plans. The complete answer to that question may not be known until far after our travel has been completed, or perhaps maybe not even within our lifetime!  We are followers of Jesus, who taught that people are to love and serve others in His name. So, we say, “Why not?”

As a young democratic republic, Mongolia is asking for help to establish a strong economy. Mongolia is tenuously situated right between the two super powers of Russia and China. About one third of the population is herders, raising sheep, yak (cattle) and goats. Sustaining the health of these animals is extremely important to Mongolia. Nearly half of the population lives in the capital city of Ulanbaataar, where we are staying. Keeping small animal pets has become more common among the rapidly growing city dwellers, mainly the younger generation. It is no surprise, then, that the Mongolia government welcomes western veterinarians into the country to educate and train the newer methods of animal medicine, surgery, and herd health.

Imagine you are the person in Mongolia whose large breed puppy jumped off of the couch and began to yelp with a hurt leg. You take him to a veterinarian, a person who has attended just five years of college and has graduated without ever having performed any procedures or handled any animals. No x-ray unit is available, so the patient is referred to another clinic. An x-ray confirms there is a fracture, but it has occurred so easily because the puppy’s bones are lacking calcium. Surgery can be done to pin the broken bones together, but the nutritional condition of the puppy will make it harder to heal. The puppy is euthanized for a 100% preventable problem. The puppy suffered in pain longer than necessary because the proper equipment was not available for diagnosis.

We have found the standard of care for pets in Mongolia to be where it was for animals about 40-50 years ago in America. We hope to educate the veterinarians and student interns in some practical, affordable ways to improve the life of pets and to teach them how to pass that information onto their clients. And we will do it out of love. “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast” Proverbs 12:10.