Hespeler Animal Hospital

Dr. Bowman’s lecture on Pets and Parasites

Dr. Dwight Bowman, a parasitologist (a scientist who studies parasites) from Cornell University in New York State, has a personal mission. He wants to see every dog in the U.S. and Canada on Heartworm preventatives.

In a seminar to a group of veterinarians March 12 of this year, he explained why. Here are some of his reasons:

-canine Heartworms live 7-8 years in an infected dog.
-treatment involves an arsenic drug and not all dogs survive
-once Canine Heartworm Disease arrives in an area, it never leaves
-the prevalence of Heartworm in dogs in North America is 0.5% (5 out of 1000 dogs)
-humans can become accidentally infected with Canine Heartworm
-preventative medication is inexpensive, less than the cost of cell phone and less than the cost of one Starbuck’s latte per week
-most preventatives also treat intestinal parasites and fleas, making them a great value

“Global warming means that Heartworm and flea season is getting longer and longer” he told us. “Heartworm-infected mosquitoes can survive winter climates, in drain pipes and root cellars. Dogs and cats can get infected with worms in the winter if they eat mice or rabbits, or when they eat another animal’s feces.”

We don’t see a lot of flea problems in humans any more, but that was not always the case. Dr. Bowman showed us interesting paintings from years ago, showing people picking fleas off their bodies. http://tours.daytonartinstitute.org/accessart/object.cfm?TT=gt&TN=pps3&ID=84&COM=ac
http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/37012/theflea
I sure don’t relish the idea of those little critters feeding on me!

Dr. Bowman also recommended preventative de-worming program for cats as well. I asked him if he felt that should include cats that are indoors 100% of the time. He replied with an emphatic “yes”. “Cats lie against screen windows, where they can be bitten by mosquitoes or infested with fleas,” he told us. “They can catch rodents that get into the house.”

Dr. Bowman and other members of the Companion Animal Parasite Council recommend year-round treatment of dogs and cats with broad-spectrum medications that work against not only heartworm but also parasites that are a risk to both pets and humans.

Ten to fifteen percent of dogs and cats in the Northeastern U.S. and Ontario harbor intestinal parasites. In the Southeastern U.S., the infection rate is as high as 35% (do you take your pets with you when you travel to Florida?)

“Dogs pick up toys with their mouths” Dr. Bowman said. “If that toy lands in contaminated soil, the dog will swallow worm eggs”.
Intestinal parasites can make your pet sick and they are also a human health hazard. People, especially children or adults with an immune system that has been weakened by drugs or disease, can be infected by animal parasites when they work or play in areas contaminated with parasite eggs — for example, soil in the yard, garden or sandbox. Children are often less careful about washing their hands and more likely to put their hands in their mouth after playing in the dirt.
“In the wintertime, when there’s lots of snow in the yard, our dogs tend to poop near the backdoor, where children will play come summer.” Dr. Bowman pointed out.
An estimated 10,000 children per year in the United States are infected with roundworms, and approximately 750 will suffer permanent visual impairment or blindness when migrating larvae lodge in their eyes. Although these statistics are from the U.S., the risk for similar infections exists in Canada. In fact, one of my staff has a friend who has been blinded by this disease.
After listening to Dr. Bowman’s presentation, I felt he made a strong case for year-round de-worming programs for all dogs and cats. For more information, check out:

http://www.petsandparasites.org/
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/article_1143.html
http://www.hespeleranimalhospital.com/2008/12/04/12-reasons-to-consider-year-round-parasite-prevention-medication/