A zoonosis (zoh-oh-NOH-sis) is an infectious disease that people can catch from animals, and vice versa. Regular veterinary visits, preventive vaccinations and medications, and good hygiene can help prevent them. Below are details about a common zoonosis, its symptoms, how it’s transmitted, and how to prevent it. Check with your veterinarian to make sure your pet is protected against this and other zoonotic diseases.
Hookworms
Short [6- to 12-mm], thick worms that are whitish to reddish brown with a hooked front end.
Signs
Puppies & kittens: Anemia and pale mucous membranes, failure to gain weight, poor hair coat, dehydration, and dark and tarry diarrhea Adult dogs & cats: Usually few signs; often source of infection for puppies; can cause severe anemia, diarrhea, and weight loss in extreme cases
People: Red, itchy, serpentine lesions on the skin
How it’s transmitted
Puppies & kittens: Crossing the placenta and through the mother’s milk
Dogs, cats & people: Ingesting them in feces and from the worms penetrating the skin (often from infected soil)
People most at risk
Farmers, gardeners, landscapers, sunbathers lying on sand, plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and children playing in potentially contaminated areas
How to prevent it
• Promptly remove animal feces from the yard.
• Cover children's sandboxes when not in use.
• Wear shoes and gloves while gardening.
• Wash hands thoroughly after playing outside or exposure to soil (especially dirt under the fingernails).
• Deworm puppies and kittens every two weeks until they can receive a monthly preventive and control product.
• To help prevent ingestion of infected animals or feces, keep dogs on leashes or in fenced yards and keep cats indoors.
• Monitor children playing outside in sandboxes and parks.
Please feel free to call us at the clinic, (520) 546-8387 with any questions about hookworms or other things that people can get from pets.
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