By Robert C. Quindt, D.V.M.

Dogs and cats can harbor parasites that may be spread to people or other pets. The most common parasite that poses a threat to humans is the roundworm. Roundworms are found in nearly all puppies and kittens. The larval stage of the worm is transferred to puppies and kittens during pregnancy, or shortly after birth through nursing. The worms live in the small intestine, and can grow up to about four inches long. If the worms become very numerous, you may see them in the vomitus or stool of an infected pet.

As the worm matures, it starts producing many eggs. The eggs are microscopic, but we can easily detect them by performing a fecal flotation test in our hospital. When eggs are found, we will prescribe a safe and effective medication to eliminate the worms from your pet.

When worm eggs are passed in the stool of a pet, they may infect other pets or people. Unfortunately, many pets will eat the stool from another pet, or may inadvertently step in stool, and then lick a foot and thereby ingest worm eggs. In people, it is most often children who inadvertently ingest the worm eggs after playing in contaminated soil. By promoting good hygiene and regular hand washing, hopefully we can avoid people getting infected, but of even greater importance is eliminating the source of the eggs. Regular testing of the stool of our pets, and proper treatment of infected pets will help to insure we will not have parasites spread to people or other pets.

We recommend that all puppies and kittens have a stool sample tested during their initial examination. Repeating the stool sample test at each annual examination will also insure that worms are not a problem for your pet or your family members.