Parasites

I decided to put some info up on those nasty little hidden problems that are often overlooked. In this case worms. Many thanks to Arlo from Guthrie Communications whom l "borrowed" the articles from.

Targeted specifically at cat ownersProfender aims to educate owners about the importance of worming their cats and visiting their vets.

Pet owners visiting the site will be able to profile their cat to determine the optimum worm treatment regime. To help improve compliance, owners can also subscribe to a free SMS or email reminder service to alert them when a worming treatment is due.

The results of a new study highlighting the prevalence of Angiostrongylus vasorum infection as seen by UK veterinary surgeons, combined with the low awareness amongst dog owners of this parasite has led Bayer Animal Health to launch a nationwide 'Be Lungworm Aware' initiative.

I have seen 2 dogs die of lung worm. Neither was pleasant. The first one was taken in collapsed and lungworm can be hard to find but x-rays of lung patterns were suggestive, although no lungworm could be found in lung samples sent for testing.

Initial treatment was started but the dog reacted badly and the dose was lessened. After several days the owners decided that the dog was suffering, he was anorexic and very depressed and had a lot of fluid on his chest the vet’s couldn’t clear as he passed on bloody fluid poured out of his lungs in a flood.
Post mortem confirmed what he had.

The other dog did not survive that long and the owners decided not to have a PM done but x-ray patterns and history suggested that again Angiostrongylus vasorum was responsible.

The new campaign will be backed by a hard-hitting national advertising, PR and radio campaign which kicks off in April, the initiative aims to highlight the prevalence of this potentially, and often fatal infection, and to drive pet owners to their veterinary practices for further information.

The initiative also sees the launch of a new educational website for dog owners on Lungworm. The site offers further information on the infection, including likely signs, how to obtain treatment and a video of the lifecycle of the parasite showing the threat posed by the lungworm's intermediate hosts - slugs and snails.

The study revealed that 16% of vets questioned had one or more confirmed cases of the disease. A further 10% had seen dogs that they suspected had the infection. However, only 6% of dog owners questioned in a UK wide survey had unprompted awareness of the parasite.

Bayer's Chris White said: "These results are no surprise following the reports last year of confirmed cases of Angiostrongylus vasorum as far north as Glasgow. The disease has seen a rapid rise in importance over the past few years highlighted by the number of vets and nurses that attended the Advocate CPD meetings held around the country at the end of last year.
"The 'Be Lungworm Aware' initiative aims to educate owners on the risks associated with infection, to encourage them to visit their vet for further information and discuss their dogs' parasite protection plan."