HOOKWORMS

Hookworm eggs can be found during microscopic examination of a pet's stool.  The eggs are released from adult worms living in the intestine.  These worms, with a hook-shaped mouth part, suck blood from the intestinal lining.  In puppies and kittens, significant blood loss with anemia and weakness (and even death with severe infection) can result.  Both young and old animals can be debilitated by hookworms, with symptoms including diarrhea, weight loss, poor coat and/or a generalized loss of condition.

Newborn animals get hookworms from their mother's milk and sometimes through the placenta before birth.  Older animals become infected by ingesting the eggs from the ground, grass or their paws when they spend time where an infected animal has previously passed stool containing hookworm eggs.  Within 2 - 3 1/2 weeks after ingestion, adult worms are present and will be shedding more eggs which can further add to the animal's worm load, infect other animals, and contaminate the environment.  The eggs are resistant to chemical destruction and will last for a long period in an animal's environment.

Eliminating a hookworm problem, therefore, is not as simple as just giving medication.  Animals must be medicated twice, 2 - 3 weeks apart, to eliminate the adult and larval forms from the intestine.  Strict stool hygiene must be practiced from now on, with daily removal of your pet's stool from the environment.  Because the eggs are long lasting (many years) and the degree of contamination in your area is unknown, re-infection is a possibility.  Therefore, a stool specimen should be re-examined microscopically 1 1/2 - 2 months after the last deworming.  For dogs, year-round use of a broad spectrum heart worm and intestinal worm preventative greatly reduces the chance of further hookworm problems.