#ROUNDWORMS AND HOOKWORMS IN HUMANS HOW TO#

In any case, the people touch the area that has been contaminated, and then touch food or their mouths without washing their hands first. You can likely think of similar situations in your own lives. A pet's fecal materials can get into the grass in which children roll around and play. Stray dogs and cats will sometimes eliminate in the soft ground cover of playgrounds. Sandboxes can be a good place for stray cats to defecate, potentially contaminating a child's environment. Humans are most commonly infected through poor hygeine. During pregnancy, the cysts open, and the worms migrate through the uterus or into the mammary glands, providing two sources of infection for the babies. They can form cysts that are impossible to detect and are a dormant stage that are resistant to antiparasitic medications. Puppies and kittens are very commonly infected because the larvae of the worms migrate through the host's body. When an animal (or human) swallows anything contaminated by the eggs, the can become infected themselves. This includes the floors of our homes, which is not uncommon as we are trying to housebreak our new puppies. These eggs can contaminate the environment, adhering to the animal's fur, the grass and leaves, or basically anywhere that feces have been touching. Both of these worms normally live in the intestines of their host, shedding eggs into the feces. When we do a fecal exam, one of the things we look for is the eggs of these parasites. These are common intestinal parasites in dogs and cats, especially kittens and puppies. So let's begin by talking about roundworms and hookworms.

#ROUNDWORMS AND HOOKWORMS IN HUMANS HOW TO#

That's probably because we vets are the most likely to be exposed to them! So we're going to make darn sure we know what we're at risk for and how to prevent it. There is much misinformation out there, and human doctors are often not as knowledgeable about these topics as are veterinarians.

Zoonotic diseases are something that we don't talk about as much as we should, and are extremely important. I thought that I would go back to a theme, doing an informational one this time. The natural reservoir for the infectious agent is a animal. Zoonosis: An infectious disease in animals that can be transmitted to people.

Roundworms and hookworms in humans