What are the common parasites in dogs and cats?

For pet friends, it is a headache for cats and dogs at home to accidentally catch parasites. Although the parasite is very small, if it is not taken seriously, it will have a great impact on dogs and cats, and even cause dogs and cats to die in serious cases. Moreover, parasites have an incubation period, and the initial reaction of dogs and cats is not obvious. If the pet owner ignores the best treatment time at this time, once it gets serious, the cat and dog will suffer and the owner will be worried. Therefore, understanding the common parasites in the body can help pet owners find and treat them early, so that dogs can grow up healthily and happily.

Ascaris:

roundworm

It is yellow-white, with three lips at the head and a long and narrow cervical pterygoid membrane at the side. Ascaris canis is characterized by a small stomach at the junction of esophagus and intestine. The male worm is 50~ 1 10 mm long, and its end is curved; The female worm is 90 ~ 180mm long and has a straight tail. Ascaris carinii is similar to Ascaris carinii in color and shape, but it has no small stomach. Male worms are 35~70 mm long and female worms are 30~ 100 mm long.

Symptoms and hazards: Ascariasis is a parasitic disease of human beings, livestock and animals. Cats and dogs infected with ascaris will gradually lose weight, increase their abdominal circumference, develop slowly, vomit and become heterosexual. A large number of infections can cause intestinal obstruction, intussusception and even intestinal perforation. Ascaris larvae pass through the lungs and have respiratory symptoms, cough, and severe dyspnea, which is manifested as pneumonia. Ascaris greatly affects the growth and development of cats and dogs, and can lead to death when it is seriously infected.

Hookworm:

hookworm

Hookworm is a small yellow-white nematode with a slightly backward bent head and a developed mouth sac. There are three canine teeth on both sides of the anterior edge of the oral sac, and each tooth hooks inward. The length of male worms is10 ~12mm, and that of female worms is14 ~16mm. The two ends of hookworm are slightly thinner than hookworm, and there are 1 half-moon-shaped cutting plates on both sides of the front edge of oral sac. Male worms are 5~8.5 mm long and female worms are 7~ 10 mm long.

Symptoms and hazards: when seriously infected, the mucosa is pale and emaciated, the coat is thick and dull, and it is easy to fall off. Loss of appetite, heterophilia, vomiting, digestive disorders, diarrhea and constipation appear alternately. The feces are bloody or black, and in severe cases, they are tar-like and have a rotten smell. For example, when a larval dog invades through the skin, the skin becomes inflamed and itchy. Some limbs swell and then burst, or there is erosion in the mouth. The infection of hookworm in the colostrum of puppies in fetal period or within 3 weeks can cause severe anemia, leading to coma and death.

Heartworm:

Filaria canis

Heartworm (also known as canine distemper) is yellow and white slender vermicelli. The male worm is 120~ 160 mm in length and its tail is spirally curled. Female worms are 250 ~ 300mm long. Viviparous larvae, called microfilaria, are parasitic in the blood, with a body length of 307~322 microns and no sheath. The life history of heartworm needs canine fleas, Anopheles and Culex pipiens as intermediate hosts.

Symptoms and hazards: the earliest symptom is chronic cough, but there are no other symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, which is aggravated during exercise, or sick dogs are prone to fatigue during exercise. With the development of the disease, the sick dog has a high diaphragm, a thin and intermittent pulse and a murmur in the heart. Liver palpation pain and hepatomegaly. Hydrothorax and ascites, edema all over the body. Difficulty in breathing. Pulmonary heart disease is very obvious under long-term infection. Finally, he died of general weakness or collapse during exercise. Sick dogs are often accompanied by nodular dermatosis, which is characterized by itching and multiple easily broken focal nodules. Skin nodule is a pyogenic granulomatous inflammation in the center of blood vessels, and microfilaria is common in the blood vessels around pyogenic granuloma. X-ray photography shows that the right ventricle is dilated, and the aorta and pulmonary artery are dilated.

Tapeworm:

tapeworm

Also known as canine cysticercosis, cysticercosis The body length is 100-400 mm, the total number of joints is about 120, the length is about 3 mm, the head is small, slightly rhombic, with rod-shaped protrusions and 3-4 rows of small hooks. The body color is reddish with yellow. Parasitic in the small intestine of carnivores such as dogs and cats, causing intestinal obstruction, anemia and other symptoms when seriously infected. Intermediate hosts include dog fleas, dog lice and so on. There are many kinds of tapeworms parasitic in the intestines of cats and dogs, and the common ones are: Taenia canis (Taenia solium), Taenia solium (Taenia midline), Taenia solium (Taenia marginata), Taenia leguminosa (Taenia serrata), Taenia polycephala (Taenia polycephala), Echinococcus granulosus and Taenia mansoni.

Symptoms and hazards: Mild infections usually don't attract the owner's attention, except that cats and dogs occasionally discharge mature segments. In severe infection, abnormal appetite (overeating and heterophilia), vomiting, chronic enteritis, diarrhea and constipation appear alternately, anemia, emaciation, excitement or depression, and some have convulsions or quadriplegia. The worm can block the intestinal tract when it clumps, leading to acute abdomen such as intestinal obstruction, intussusception, intestinal volvulus and intestinal rupture. If it is found that there are tapeworm pregnancy nodules in the anus of sick dogs and short tapeworm segments are mixed in feces, it can help to diagnose. The segment is white, the smallest is like a grain of rice, and the dog can be as long as 9 mm.