Ivermectin is also the preferred treatment for hyperinfection/disseminated strongyloidiasis, usually in prolonged courses (e.g. Strongyloides also causes disseminated disease (hyperinfection syndrome) in certain hosts. The preferred treatment for uncomplicated strongyloidiasis is oral ivermectin (200mcg/kg daily for 2 days), which cures 70-85% of chronically infected patients. Household and other close contacts should also be treated, and a second treatment dose is recommended 2 weeks after the first dose because of high re-infection rates and the frequent occurrence of autoinfection. Preliminary data suggest that mebendazole may be slightly superior to albendazole for whipworm and that combination therapy with ivermectin may be superior to albendazole or mebendazole monotherapy.įor hookworm, single-dose albendazole (400mg) is preferred over single-dose mebendazole (500mg).įor pinworm (Enterobius), single-dose therapy with albendazole (400mg) or mebendazole (100mg) is highly effective. You may be able to see roundworms in your pet’s stool–they are thin, long and pale.For Trichuris infections, at least 3-7 days of albendazole (400mg BID) or mebendazole (100mg BID) should be used, because single-dose cure rates are low. Symptoms in your pet can include a potbellied appearance, lack of growth, coughing, and vomiting. Roundworms can lay over 200,000 eggs every day, which makes it very important to catch the infection early before any health complications occur. This can cause serious health problems, including organ damage as the larvae enter organs and travel through the body.
Roundworms can also infect humans through ingestion or skin contact. Infected female dogs and cats can pass an infection to their young through nursing, but only dogs can pass on their infection in the womb. Roundworms are the most dangerous for young puppies and kittens, because the parasite will drain nutrients away from the pet’s body, which can lead to malnutrition, respiratory issues, and intestinal blockage. Pets can become infected by roundworms through ingestion of infected soil, licking fur and paws that have come into contact with a contaminated source, drinking contaminated water or coming into contact with cockroaches that carry roundworm eggs. The most common type of intestinal parasite, roundworms infect dogs and cats through contact with fecal matter, where the roundworms hatch their larvae. Veterinarians have the most powerful and effective dewormers available for treating your pet. There are some over-the-counter treatments for intestinal worms, but these don’t work very well. Other types of parasites have require different types of medications to treat. And if the intestinal worms infecting a dog or cat are not mature enough to be producing eggs, the fecal sample test will give negative results–which is why multiple fecal tests over a period of time are sometimes needed to successfully diagnose infection by an intestinal parasite.Īfter a diagnosis has been made, intestinal worms can be treated by using a dewormer solution. In another case, testing for tapeworm eggs can sometimes cause false negatives. For example, detecting the single-celled parasite giardia requires a special solution to be added to the sample. In some cases, a routine stool sample test may be insufficient to diagnose a parasite. The veterinarian will then mix the sample with a solution that makes the eggs more visible underneath the microscope.
Your veterinarian will take a stool sample to test for the presence of microscopic eggs laid by adult worms.