Hookworms are parasitic worms that affect the canine small intestine and have hematophagous habits. Because they have a large buccal capsule with teeth to latch onto the dog's small intestine, they are called "hook worms." Its form of infection is the larvae 3 of the parasite, which enter the dog through the skin, are ingested or pass through the milk or the placenta to the puppies. Once in the canine organism, they evolve to their adult state, where they cause damage and chronic traumatic enteritis in their definitive location: the intestine.
Treatment is based on correcting anemia and electrolyte disturbances, and diagnosis is made using parasitological diagnostic techniques. However, if you want to know more, don't miss this article on our site, where we will deal with the topic of hookworms in dogs, their symptoms and treatment
What is hookworm in dogs?
Canine hookworm is a parasitic pathology caused by hookworm worms, which belong to the Ancylostomatidae family and the Ancylostoma genus. Dogs can be affected by Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma braziliense and Uncinaria stenocephala.
They are worms that measure between 12 and 30 mm and have a large curved buccal capsule with teeth, which gives them a greater capacity to damage the intestinal mucosa of our dogs.
The parasite causes a ulcerative traumatic enteritis with chronic and progressive symptoms of blood loss.
Life cycle of hookworms in dogs
Gravid females shed their eggs in the faeces of an infected dog, evolving from larva 1 to larva 3 (L1-L3) if environmental conditions are optimal (humidity and temperature between 20 and 30 ºC), in about seven days.
Causes of hookworm in dogs
The source of infection is the larvae 3 of the parasite, which can penetrate the bodycanine by the following routes:
- Oral route: If the dog is infected orally, the larvae will go to the lung, digestive system or muscle. They will become adult parasites in 2-3 weeks.
- Percutaneous route: through hairless areas, in the case of Ancylostoma braziliense and Ancylostoma caninum.
- By lactation: another form of contagion is through milk during lactation, infecting the puppies.
- Transplacental route: they can also be spread transplacentally, parasitizing fetuses.
Pathogenesis of hookworm in dogs
When the transmission of the parasite is through the skin, a dermatitis pruritica is produced and then the larvae go to the lung to reach the intestine by blood. In all places they cause traumatic action, being able to produce cutaneous, pulmonary and intestinal lesions.
Due to their hematophagous habits and their traumatic action, they cause an inflammation in the small intestine of our dog. Depending on the number of adult parasites, the damage will be more or less serious, and may cause significant anemia in dogs depending on the total number of adult parasites, since they consume from 0.07 to 0.8 ml of blood per day.
Thanks to their large and traumatic buccal capsule, they stick to the mucosa causing a traumatic ulcerative enteritis and are located in several places, where they release proteolytic substances to digest the tissue and form ulcers. In addition, they also release anticoagulant substances so that the outflow of blood does not stop, which continues to happen when they go to another place. All this causes the dog to progressively lose blood and gradually weaken.
Symptoms of hookworm in dogs
The clinical signs of hookworm in dogs are characteristic of a traumatic and anemizing ulcerative enteritis, and may include the following lesions and symptoms:
- Weightloss.
- Growth reduction in puppies.
- Capricious appetite.
- Progressive anemia.
- Pale mucous membranes.
- Weakness.
- Dehydration.
- Hypoproteinemia.
- Dry Skin.
- Bad appearance of the hair, it comes loose easily.
- Tachycardia.
- Tachypnea.
- Intestinal ulcers.
- Inflammation of the intestinal mucosa.
- Infarction of the mesenteric lymph nodes.
- Bloody diarrhea.
- Dermatitis.
- Itchy skin.
- Petechiae in the alveoli.
- Congestion and bleeding in the intestine.
In puppies, the disease can become more serious and even fatal, as they are more susceptible than adults.
Diagnosis of hookworm in dogs
The symptoms can make us think of this parasite, but also of other intestinal or hemorrhagic diseases that can affect dogs. The definitive diagnosis should therefore be based on parasitological tests Thus, the tests to be carried out are:
- Feces analysis: using the parasitological flotation technique.
- Search for eggs: with the help of the microscope, after performing the technique and obtaining a slide with a sample.
- Faeces culture: for the eggs to complete their evolution to the larva 3.
- Identify the larvae: identification of the culture larvae by the Baermann technique.
Treatment of hookworms in dogs
Faced with an anemic dog with hookworms, the main thing is to recover it through symptomatic treatment with blood transfusion if required, correction of dehydration and nutritional deficiencies.
To definitively put an end to parasitization, specific treatment with anthelminticsshould be resorted to, and the following drugs may be used:
- Macrocyclic lactones such as selamectin, milbemycin, moxidectin or ivermectin.
- Benzimidazoles such as mebendazole, febantel, oxibendazole or fenbendazole.
- Levamisol.
- Emodepside.
Preventing Hookworm In Dogs
To prevent canine hookworm, like other parasitizations, frequent deworming should be done In addition, due to the potential for transmission by placenta or milk, females during their gestation must also be dewormed in order to avoid this form of contagion. Then you can use 2.5 mg/kg of moxidectin topically once a month or every 15 days.
Deworming a puppy should begin when she is two weeks old with an approved anthelmintic for puppies, repeating every two weeks until she is eight weeks old. The mother should be dewormed in the same way during this time.
The deworming of the mother during pregnancy to greatly reduce the transmission of hookworms through milk can be as follows:
- Intramuscular ivermectin at days 45 and 55 after conception.
- Topical solution of imidacloprid 10% and moxidectin 2.5% on gestation day 56.
- Fenbendazole at a dose of 50 mg/kg daily from gestation day 40 to postpartum day 14.
Do dog hookworms spread to humans?
Yes, all dog hookworms are zoonotic, which means can be spread to humans People spread through ingestion oral larvae after touching soil or soil contaminated by them due to having fecal matter from a parasitized dog. Infection can also be directly through the skin in the same areas.
When canine hookworm larvae, especially Ancylostoma braziliense, penetrate a person's skin, they develop "cutaneous larva migrans", which produces a mild, self-limited dermatitis with erythema, itching, papules, and fine, linear, mobile lesions on the skin or tortuous reddish-brown tortuous snake-like lesions, which are very itchy.
In this other article, we explain 9 other diseases that dogs transmit to humans.
