The Danger To Your Dog Of Lungworm
Your pet dog and Angiostrongylus vasorum, lungworm.
The prevalence and ease with which lungworm, and many other canine diseases, can be acquired is a fact unknown to most dog owners. Even though lungworm is easily treatable, it’s important to keep up your pet insurance policy so that the grave consequences otherwise possible are avoided.
Joe Inglis, the celebrity vet, is not the only expert to have made recent comments about the danger to pet dogs posed by lungworm. What are the causes of this disease and how can owners prevent their pets from catching it?
Animals can contract the condition through ingesting molluscs like slugs and snails, which can internally harbour the parasite, A. vasorum. It is this organism which causes the problem, although it does not affect humans.
A dog can easily unknowingly eat one of these unsavoury molluscs whilst chewing a toy or scavenging.
What happens when a pooch gets this far? The main problem, according to Bayer Animal Health who are trying to raise public awareness, is that once an infected mollusc has been ingested a cycle of infection is started which is very difficult to break. This is so because other dogs will become infected through contact with their excrement.
However, research by the team found that only half of dog owners in the UK understand how their animals can become infected, although 62 per cent said they were aware that the condition can kill.
It was of considerable concern, said Dr Inglis, that less than half knew of lungworm in the first place.
The adult parasites take up residence in the cardiovascular system, living in the heart and infecting the blood vessels and pathways which lead to the lungs. As a result of this the dog may develop a chronic cough and become tired very quickly, both signs of respiratory distress.
Some of the other symptoms can be an inability for the blood to clot and a general malaise and depression.
Provided that pet health care is obtained as soon as these signs are recognized, the condition is, Dr Inglis said, easily treatable. Death can soon result if you fail to get the correct treatment straight away.
Some owners of pet dogs may assume that their three-month worming will kill off all parasites, including A. vasorum.Sadly this is not true. The Bayer Animal Health initiative refers to the application of monthly preventative topical solutions but otherwise suggests elimination by a separate course of treatment.
By clearing up any dog mess, no matter whose dog was responsible, you can effectively reduce the chances of your pet becoming infected.
By bringing inside all objects that might end up with molluscs attached if left outside, Dr Inglis suggested that the risk of infection would be reduced.
Putting up a list of lungworm symptoms in your home could be a way of eliminating the disease.
If your pet dog starts showing worrying signs, this list will allow you to see in an instant whether or not it could be the result of infection by lungworm.
