The Problem with Internal Parasites

Your veterinarian always asks for a fecal sample to check for parasites at the time of your pet’s annual vaccines. You don’t see anything in your pet’s stool and they seem perfectly fine. You don’t need to worry right? Wrong! Read below to find out why fecal screening is recommended every year and why, what you don’t know can definitely hurt you!

Why does my vet recommend a fecal every year?

• Parasites are not always visible in the feces. Some worms grow to a size you can see eventually – like roundworm or tapeworm, but others like hookworm and whipworm are very tiny and still more, like coccidia and giardia, are microscopic and you cannot see them with the naked eye.
• Even indoor pets have risk of parasites. Flies land on infected feces and can bring eggs into the house. When your pet eats them, they become infected. You can also track parasite eggs in on your shoes or come in the dirt of plants.
• The absence of diarrhea is not a good way to know your pet is clear. Right? In fact, diarrhea does not always occur in several types of parasite infections: Giardia, Roundworm, Whipworm, Coccidia, Hookworm.
• Intestinal Parasites are a problem in the Breslau and KW area. We diagnose many dogs with infections whose owners were not aware there was an issue. In fact, in adult dogs especially, we catch parasites regularly on fecal screening at the time of their annual visit and owners thought they were clear beforehand.
• There are several zoonotic parasites in our community. These are parasites that can make you and your family sick and in the case of roundworm, the most common if them all, can have devastating consequences such as neurological disease, blindness or even, in rare cases, death. For individuals under the age of 7 or over the age of 65, or for those who are immunocompromised, the complications from infection can be more serious.

I have my pet on a monthly parasite preventive so they should be clear. Right?

• While it is great you have taken the steps to prevent some of the most commonly found worms and even some that you and your family can get, these parasite preventions focus on the most common parasites. There are many parasites they do not treat. Targeting treatment to what your pet has and getting rid of it prior to it affecting their health, or yours, is important.
• The way dewormers work is to clear out your pet’s intestinal tract of parasites. After treatment, your pet is open for infection again if they are in the environment where your pet lives. This is why checking at least once per year is important.

Breslau Animal Hospital has engaged the most up to date technology called a KEYSCREEN which looks for the DNA of parasites in your pet’s feces. It is far more sensitive in detecting these and allows us to catch infections before your pet becomes really sick. If you have questions about internal parasites, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our knowledgeable team members.