Worms in Dogs Guide: Roundworms
July 7th, 2010 by
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Roundworms are one of the two very common infections of worms in dogs that are common in the UK. Like other types of worms in dogs, they are parasites that live in the dog’s gut and they feed on the partially digested food there, meaning that they take your pet’s food!
This type of worms in dogs is a big problem for puppies who are often born with an infestation, passed to them through the placenta in the womb or through their mother’s milk. Adult dogs can also become infected if they ingest eggs from soil which has been contaminated with the faeces of other infected dogs.
The roundworm, the most common worms in dogs to affect puppies, causes a pot bellied appearance amongst puppies and can even lead to death through intestinal blockage. Severe infestations often lead to poor growth.
It is very important therefore to treat dogs for worms regularly and even more frequently for puppies. Alarmingly, this type of worms in dogs can infest humans if they ingest larvae after coming into contact with infected soil and not washing their hands adequately. Children are particularly susceptible and if larvae migrate around their bodies and reach the back of the retina then permanent damage to eye sight and even sight loss may be caused. Because human health as well as dog health is at risk from this type of worms in dogs, it is an important matter of public health that dogs are regularly wormed and that owners pick up after their pets.
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