Unfortunately, infection with helminths (worms) from animals is a very common fact in our time. Human infection occurs due to daily contact with a pet.
Can you get worms from a dog? Yes, you can. Worm eggs are found in feces, from where they spread to the animal’s fur and then pass to humans through hugs, kisses and even sleeping together with a pet.
Infection of a person with worms from a dog
What common worms do people and dogs suffer from?
The dog in this case is only an intermediate carrier of the helminth.
Echinococcus (Echinococcus)
Genus of tapeworms, order Cyclophyllidae. The disease develops asymptomatically over several decades, but the most acute signals and manifestations are: nausea, vomiting, general malaise, severe aching pain in the abdomen.
The development is due to the fact that echinococci spread peculiar “cysts” in parenchymal organs, such as the lungs and liver, due to favorable conditions for their existence, then spread to other organs.
Canine Toxocara canis
A representative of roundworms, the genus Toxocara. Disease - (expressed by loss of vision, damage to the central nervous system, pneumonia, cough and vomiting). They are formed in the animal’s body in the stomach and small intestine, and spread through feces.
Toxocara
Hookworms (Ancylostoma)
They belong to the genus nematodes. Disease - hookworm ( the disease passes without symptoms, but later manifests itself skin itching, inflammation and dermatitis).
Hookworm
A person can become infected through close contact with an animal. The larvae do not fully develop in the human body, but are able to live for several years.
Pork tapeworm (Taenia solium)
Despite the name, the intermediate host can be pigs, dogs or other animals. Infection occurs through feces due to failure to comply with basic hygiene rules.
This type of helminth is very dangerous and multiplies in the gastrointestinal tract, from where it can spread throughout all body systems, right up to the brain. They live in the human body for decades.
Pork tapeworm
Can you get infected through a dog's saliva?
Another question, exciting person: Is it possible to become infected with worms through the saliva of an animal. Yes, it is possible, but this happens extremely rarely.
For example, a dog can eat something while walking on the street and then (with worm larvae on the tongue) come into contact with a person, from where he can become infected through kisses. Also, through saliva, a dog can bring many infections that develop in the oral cavity.
How to prevent infection
Preventing infection is not easy. If you decide to get a dog, constant monitoring and a lot of effort are required.
- Basic rules of hygiene: be sure to wash your hands after walking outside or contacting any animal, trim your nails on time.
- Wash toys, clothes, bedding, carpets, and anything else your dog might come into contact with at least 2 times a week and do a wet cleaning throughout the house.
- Walk your dog only on a leash and avoid contact with stray dogs.
- Do not kiss the animal “on the lips”; limit close contact with it.
- Clean your pet's litter box daily if it is in the house.
- If you still suspect the presence of worms in your dog, use antihelminthic drugs for dogs (Milbemax, Febtal)
Given this necessary knowledge and rules, you will significantly reduce the risk of contracting worms from animals. It is important to remember that most varieties reach humans through the mouth, so hands and nails are one of the dirtiest places on the human body that must be treated constantly.
Know that a dog is not only the most popular and beloved a pet, but also a source of infection with dangerous helminths. Keep an eye on your pets, take care of them, and you can protect yourself and your loved ones. Be healthy!
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Does the flu happen in dogs?
Nobody likes to have a cold or viral disease. Often, at these moments only our four-legged pets remain next to us. They look faithfully into our eyes, warm us when we are cold, and try in every possible way to ease our pain (o). However, Are they at risk of catching flu or colds from us? Yes, and in general, can a person infect a dog with the flu? Or is it still worth taking precautions in relation to our four-legged pets?
Ways to get infected with influenza
Before answering the question of whether a person can infect a dog with the flu, let's turn to the mechanism by which the virus itself enters the human body. We could have become hypothermic, or caught the disease from its carrier.
Accordingly, our pet may get sick if:
- viruses, fungi, bacteria will enter his body;
- he will become hypothermic - just swim in cold water, drink cold water, or simply walk longer than usual in bad weather;
- his body is weakened, and the immune system does not cope with bacteria that enter the mucous membranes.
At the same time, pay attention to a very important point.
According to veterinarians, human influenza viruses and other respiratory viral diseases do not pose a threat to dogs. That is, theoretically, an owner who is sick with the flu cannot infect a dog.
But don’t rush to think that the danger has passed.
Canine flu
Animals, particularly dogs, have their own viruses. So, for example, in Russia, in 2004, the canine influenza virus was identified. Then the greyhound dog breed suffered the most from it. At the same time, the symptoms of the flu were very similar to human symptoms:
- in animals there was a high,
- the dogs coughed and sneezed,
- general lethargy and decreased appetite were observed.
Why can a dog get the flu?
And although cases of canine influenza registered in 2004, fortunately, did not recur, most often dogs get colds, not because viruses and harmful bacteria enter their body, but because their body got hypothermic. In addition, the following circumstances can contribute to the development of a cold in a dog:
- Passive lifestyle of the dog, lack of sufficient and quality walks (o). As a result, the animal's immune barrier is automatically reduced, and it becomes more vulnerable to viruses. That is why experts recommend not to forget about long walks in good weather, as well as additional insulation in bad weather. Snow and rain outside the window is not a reason to refuse a walk; rather, it is a reason to get it and go for a walk according to a shortened program.
- The next one flows smoothly from the previous point. Very often the dog’s body suffers from real hypothermia. If a dog has short hair, it needs clothing in the fall and winter. If an animal lives outside, in a booth, it must be sufficiently insulated and windproof. You should not experiment with bathing dogs in open water in bad weather. Animals also need to be protected from drafts.
- An unbalanced diet and lack of vitamins, all this becomes the reason that the immune system begins to fail and cannot cope with the attack of viruses and bacteria. Especially increased nutrition is needed in winter and spring. Then it is also relevant.
- Lack of vaccination and preventive examinations from veterinarians increases the risk that the animal will get sick.
- Dry air in the room - the use of heaters, especially in winter, leads to the fact that the air in the room becomes dry. This automatically leads to drying out of the animal’s mucous membranes and the latter can no longer resist viruses. Instead of a barrier preventing the disease from entering the body, they turn into a kind of gate. That is why animal owners need to additionally humidify dry air and monitor its indicators using a special hygrometer device, and not by eye. What may seem comfortable to you and me may be completely unsafe for a dog.
Video about flu in dogs
Today we talked about whether an owner can infect a pet with the flu. Human viruses are not scary for dogs. But, in the case of dog flu, humans can be a carrier of the disease. Also, improper care for a pet provokes the development of viral and colds him. Therefore, it is important to properly care for your dog. If you nevertheless encounter symptoms similar to those of human flu, only it’s not you who is sneezing, but your dog, do not hesitate to visit the veterinarian. Trying to cure your dog of the flu at home is quite difficult. Besides, your pet’s health is not something worth risking...
Has your dog ever had the flu? Do you take precautions for your pet when you have the flu? We will be interested to know your answers.
Worm diseases are a well-known problem; all dog breeders have probably encountered these pathologies. Inexperienced pet lovers, having learned that their pets have worms, often ask veterinarians the same question: “Is it possible to get worms from a dog?” In this article we will try to answer it.
In addition, people, unlike their pets, wash their hands at least occasionally, and are not inclined to eat rotten food from garbage dumps. But dogs are a completely different matter. And therefore their likelihood of infection is always higher.
But the immune system is always much weaker in the following individuals:
- Small children (who also love to cuddle pets).
- Old people.
- People recovering from serious illnesses.
All of the above categories of people have a much higher risk of contracting helminthiasis, and therefore they should minimize contact with sick animals.
Methods of infection
Remember! You should never kiss a dog! Even though helminthiases are transmitted through saliva extremely rarely and only through a combination of certain factors, it is more than possible to pick up something infectious in such cases.
How to avoid getting worms from a dog: a list of recommendations
We’ll tell you right away how to avoid getting infected by “guests” from your pet. Considering that most dog worms do not pose an immediate danger to humans, you don’t have to do anything particularly difficult:
Finally, if something really serious is suspected (eg echinococcosis), the dog should be isolated in a separate room. Ideally, it is generally better to keep the dog in a separate enclosure outside and be sure to burn all its feces.
If the pet is a “free bird” and is kept free-range in the yard (or even in an aviary), then everything becomes even more complicated. We strongly recommend that you fix it in one place during treatment. Simply put, it is better to put the dog on a chain. It is advisable to have dense flooring or compacted earth in this area. All feces must be carefully collected by raking the underlying layer of soil with a shovel, and then also burned.
Remember! To some, all these precautions may seem absurd and even funny, but do not forget that the already mentioned echinococcosis or related alveococcosis is fatal dangerous diseases, often leading to death or severe disability of people.
As for the enclosure, after treatment, the floors in the enclosure must be treated using the same chlorine bleaches, and then the boards must be treated with a blowtorch. All this will not be superfluous, if only because helminthiases are not infectious diseases, immunity to them is not formed.
Particular care should be taken when bringing a new pet into the home. It must be treated with anthelmintic drugs; for the first ten days it is necessary to isolate the new pet from the “old-timers”.
The most dangerous worms for humans
Summarizing all of the above, two main conclusions can easily be drawn:
Cysts are dangerous (among other things) due to their size and tendency to gradually grow. When such a tumor grows, it compresses the surrounding tissue. If a cyst has formed, for example, in the brain (and such cases occur quite often), everything will end badly.
The presence of such a “tumor” in the heart, lungs or liver will also not lead to anything good. Cyst rupture is also very dangerous. If liquid leaks from it, for example, in abdominal cavity In humans, full-fledged worms cannot grow from scolex, but the development of peritonitis is a very real prospect.
Pork tapeworm
The same thing will happen as in the case of echinococci/alveococci.
Toxocariasis
Toxocara is one of the most common worms in dogs. Hypothetically, they are not so dangerous for humans, since they need intermediate hosts for ripening... Only in this case, people can also be such.
These larvae often cause abscesses and other inflammatory processes directly in internal organs person.
If such an abscess bursts (and this can happen at any time), the person may die from sepsis, peritonitis, or a similar pathology.
If worms were transmitted from a domestic dog: what are the symptoms? Let's summarize. Yes, from domestic dog
and in fact you can become infected with worms. But in practice, this only results from gross non-compliance with the simplest personal hygiene measures, as well as a lack of care for the animal itself.
Simply put, there really is a danger of infection, but it is not as great as is commonly thought. And “hundreds of types of worms transmitted to humans from dogs” (as some media write) do not exist in nature at all.
Infections that are most often transmitted to humans from dogs.
Campillobacteriosis
This bacterium is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in humans. The infection often occurs in a mild form and the prognosis of the disease is favorable, but among children under one year old, as well as in weakened individuals, severe complications are possible, leading to chronicity of the process or death. Campillobacteriosis is dangerous for pregnant women: transplacental infection of the fetus leads to spontaneous abortion or intrauterine infection of the embryo.
Leptospirosis
Dogs excrete the pathogen in their urine. Leptospires penetrate the human body through the (usually damaged) skin and mucous membranes. Then, through the bloodstream, they are carried throughout the body and enter various organs. In terms of the frequency of deaths and the multiplicity of clinical symptoms, this disease occupies one of the first places among infectious diseases transmitted to humans from animals
Listeriosis It occurs most often in the elderly, newborns, and in people with immunodeficiencies. IN The risk category is supplemented by a large group of people dependent on intravenously administered drugs. In them, listeriosis is often fatal. Infected animals release bacteria into the external environment through saliva, feces, and urine. The disease is dangerous for pregnant women.
Pasteurellosis
An acute infectious disease characterized by fever, general intoxication, inflammation of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, arthritis, osteomyelitis. The disease is dangerous due to the development of the septic form, which is the most severe with a high probability of secondary lesions in various organs (endocarditis, brain abscesses, purulent meningitis, purulent arthritis, etc.). Infectious-toxic shock may develop.
Infections caused by capnocytophages
The causative agent of the infection lives in the oral cavity of dogs. Human infection occurs through bites, scratches and salivation. Risk factors for the disease are asplenia (congenital or acquired pathology characterized by the absence of the spleen), long-term use of glucocorticoids, and alcohol abuse. Against the background of these conditions, the course of the infection becomes lightning fast. Capnocytophaga canimorsus causes sepsis, meningitis, infective endocarditis, cellulitis, purulent arthritis and other life-threatening complications.
Rabies
The disease always ends in death. Infection occurs through bites, scratching, salivation by sick animals, or through contact with objects contaminated with infected saliva.
Tick-borne borelliosis
The carriers are ixodid ticks, which become infected by sucking the blood of infected animals. A disease with an acute or chronic course, which may damage the skin, nervous, cardiovascular systems, liver and musculoskeletal system.
Norovirus infection
Scientists know that there is a possibility of transmission of norovirus infection from dogs to humans.
Ringworm
Patches of baldness on the scalp or pink round spots on other parts of the body. A person becomes infected from an animal by stroking its fur. Children become infected with ringworm from puppies they pick up while playing. Direct contact is not necessary - ringworm fungus can persist on objects for a long period of time (from several months).
Toxocariasis
The main source of infection for humans is dogs, especially puppies. Infection occurs through direct contact with an infested animal whose fur is contaminated with Toxocara eggs, as well as through ingestion of soil containing Toxocara eggs.
From the eggs that fall into the mouth, larvae emerge into the stomach and small intestine, migrating through the bloodstream to the liver. There, some of the larvae settle and an inflammatory membrane forms around them. The rest of the larvae migrate to the heart and lungs. Toxocara larvae can be localized in various organs and tissues - kidneys, muscles, thyroid gland, brain, etc. In tissues, the larvae remain viable for many years and periodically, migrate and provoke relapses of the disease.
One of the most serious problems associated with toxocariasis is the relationship between invasion and the development of bronchial asthma.
Giardiasis
The main manifestations of giardiasis are allergic and pathological neurological reactions.
Echinococcosis
It is from dogs that humans most often become infected with echinococcosis, a disease caused by tapeworm larvae (cestodes).
Transmission of the pathogen occurs when a dog licks a person or through contact with the animal’s fur.
The secretions of the infected dog end up on the grass and berries.
Once in the human body, the egg containing the young larva migrates.
The larvae form round or oval cysts filled with liquid, ranging in size from 1-5 to 40 cm and even larger. Most of the larvae are retained in the liver, some end up in the lungs, and some in the kidneys, bones and brain. The larva can get into any organ, and the cyst can burst and release dozens more larvae. Growing, the hydatid cyst pushes aside and compresses the host tissue, which subsequently atrophies and dies.
Complications of the disease: suppuration of the cyst, pleurisy, peritonitis, obstructive jaundice, cirrhosis, pulmonary hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure. The most serious complication is cyst rupture, which is accompanied by severe pain and allergic reaction(anaphylactic shock).
Dog tapeworm (cucumber)
Scabies
Characteristic signs of the disease are itching and rash, often with the addition of secondary pustular elements due to infection when scratching
Observing simple rules, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from infection
This often happens due to the negligence of the owners themselves. But this does not mean that you should not have a dog. You need to keep an eye on your pet and follow some safety rules.
How is the disease transmitted from dog to person?
Another source of human infection from a dog is saliva. Of course - doctors say that dog saliva contains an active substance that helps blood clot. But this is if the dog is healthy. Dog saliva may contain very dangerous infectious agents - tuberculosis, helminthiasis, toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis, giardiasis in dogs, rabies. Owners simply squeal with happiness when their pet licks its face. The dog may also (as a sign of submission) lick his hands. Also, saliva remains on the toys she plays with.
Stealing food is a favorite pastime for pets. And, in order to do their “dirty deed,” they can jump on the table or climb into the completely uncovered refrigerator. And there have even been cases when dogs opened the refrigerator themselves. Doctors recommend keeping food away from your pets, and if your pet gets creative, it's best to keep the kitchen locked.
Blood, like food, is not such a common source of infection. But your dog's blood can get on your hands, face, and open wounds. Sometimes dogs that are sorting things out with each other can get into a fight and the owners then separate the pets.
Blood from dog fights can get on your skin. Also, during fights, one of the individuals may accidentally bite a person. But that is not all. Glass on the road, splinters and open wounds on a dog can become a source of infection. Through the same wound, an infection can enter the bloodstream, which, if handled carelessly, can infect a person.
Diseases that can be contracted from a dog
There are two types of threats to humans that can be contracted from a dog. Any disease can affect either one type of carrier or several types. For example, fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) do not bite humans, just as human fleas (Pulex irritans) do not bite animals.
Tuberculosis bacillus(or Koch's wand). A very common disease in our time, which many experience very hard, and the disease tends to be chronic. The disease itself manifests itself in the lungs and lymph nodes. This is an inflammatory process that is accompanied by swelling and a dry cough. The infection is transmitted through saliva and animal bites.
Rabies. A viral disease that affects the nervous system. The nature of the disease is that in the brains of animals affected by the virus there are special inclusions of “Babes bodies”. They range from 1 to 27 microns. Rabies is transmitted to humans through a bite.
This bacterium is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in humans. The infection often occurs in a mild form and the prognosis of the disease is favorable, but among children under one year old, as well as in weakened individuals, severe complications are possible, leading to chronicity of the process or death. Campillobacteriosis is dangerous for pregnant women: transplacental infection of the fetus leads to spontaneous abortion or intrauterine infection of the embryo.. Caused by Leptospira. This infection, which is accompanied by severe headaches, muscle pain and joint problems. The disease gradually progresses into a severe form with an elevated temperature, like the flu. All this may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. You can become infected through saliva and blood. Although most often due to insufficient heat treatment of the affected products.
Tick-borne borreliosis. A virus that is transmitted through the bite of an ixodid tick. The disease penetrates through the blood and affects all organs connected by blood vessels: heart, nervous system, muscles, etc. As a result, antibodies begin to work against the body, and not for good. When the pathogen dies, it releases a huge amount of poison into the blood, causing a deterioration in the condition.
Prevention and treatment
You should also carry out regular deworming and give your pet all the necessary vaccinations so that the disease does not affect it, and then the owner himself. But there is one pitfall here. If the vaccination was carried out after the animal became infected with the virus, or was carried out at the wrong time, then the disease may manifest itself.
If there are children in the house
Pay special attention to children who squeal with joy when a dog appears in the house. There are several factors that increase the risk of infection. Firstly, children are much more irresponsible than adults. After contact, any adult will not rub their face or eyes, put their hands in their mouth, or take food with their hands.
But the child does not always realize what he is doing. And maybe, without washing your hands after the animal, you can take, for example, cookies or candy from the table. Also Small child can imitate a dog during play and put its toys in its mouth. In this case, you need to monitor the child who is playing with the pet. And teach older children to discipline and hygiene. Also, a child, unlike an adult, is less protected from diseases than an adult. This is due to the fact that his body is not yet fully formed; children usually suffer many diseases more severely.
