Hookworms are very small bloodsucking creepy things, that left untreated can grow and cause an array of problems. They attach themselves to the intestinal lining with structures which are similar to teeth which hold the worms in place, allowing them to feed off your furry friend's body while causing severe damage to the intestine's walls. The blood loss can be severe and cause life threatening anemia and hemorrhaging if the worms are present for a long time.
"Hygiene will handle 90 percent of your problem," says Dr. Bowman, D.V.M.,.Associate professor of Parasitology at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. He also recommends keeping the yard clean by removing stools before they have a chance to contaminate the soil underneath. Here is some links that I hope can be of help to you!
Petie
Pet Love Shack
The
(microscopic) larvae of hookworm wait in the expelled fecal matter. They DO NOT have the ability to "burrow" through intact skin. Now
if someone with hookworm were to defecate on the street ... then there
would be a risk if there is a cut or a nearby hair follicle (ref.
Microbiology/ Parasitology online Thomas Jefferson University.)
Ears - My
Lab has
itchy ears?
My daughter is visiting here in CT and I took her dog to the vet because of sickness and the vet found that the dog has hookworm. The dog is now medicating BUT my daughter is pregnant and I'm concerned for her and the baby after it is born. She has an appointment at the vets request to be sure everything is ok there.
Their backyard is where the dog went to defecate and because of the rains and the way the ground is there, I'm sure that the dog has tracked the same dirt into the home. The dog would also go onto the furniture and has also had accidents (diahreea) on the carpets. This was picked up and wiped with water and sprayed with Lysol, but I"m sure that it didn't kill the larvae.
Do you have info that will help with these questions on how to treat the yard, home etc?
Thank you,
J Foster
