"Atlas of diagnosis and treatment of common parasitic diseases in dogs and cats" is a fast, concise and practical reference book for practicing veterinarians, assistant practicing veterinarians, interns and students engaged in pet diagnosis and treatment.
Parasite in dogs
Babesia gibberii
Babesia gibsoni
Small babesia, which parasitizes within canine red blood cells, is transmitted by tick bites.
Developmental cycle: 1 to 3 weeks.
Diagnosis: finding trophozoites and gametophytes within red blood cells.
Site of parasite: inside red blood cells.
Similar species: Canine babes, the worm body inside the red blood cells is larger than the Babesia gibezia.
Distribution: All over the world. In the southwestern United States, the disease is seen in pit bulls.
Clinical symptoms: more pathogenic than canine babesia. Acute typical symptoms are fever, drowsiness, acute anemia. The most acute cases present with hypertensive shock, hypoxia, and rarely vascular stasis (puppies), but often fatal. In acute cases, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly appear. Symptoms may be complicated by concurrent rickettsial infection.
Treatment: There is an approved product.
Imizol® (mainly diacrylaminoclamide dipropionate; 7.5 mg/kg intramuscularly, repeated once or two weeks).
Berenil® (diacetamide triazamidine; 3.5 mg/kg once intramuscularly; note that it is not available in the US).
Oxydiphenylpyrimidine/phinametine (Phenamidine®, hydroxyethylfenamidine; 15 mg/kg, once subcutaneously once every 24 hours for two days; note that it is not available in the United States). 1% trypan blue (10 mg/kg intravenously once; efficacy against Babesia gidii is unknown).
Supportive care: whole blood or bagged red blood cell transfusion, therapeutic shock (fluid replacement).
Canine hook-mouth nematodes
Ancylostoma caninum
Common hookworms in dogs (the most pathogenic). Infection through skin or breast milk.
Developmental cycle: Puppies can release eggs (infected with breast milk) as early as two weeks after birth.
Diagnosis: The eggs are elongated and oval (60 μm long), and the thin-shelled eggs (8 dividing cell stages) in the feces are difficult to distinguish from the Brazilian hook-mouth nematode. Hook-mouthed eggs are smaller than those of the genus Curved- The eggs in the feces develop and hatch into first stage larvae (300 to 340 μm long), with a short esophagus, a esophageal bulb at the base, and a small reproductive primordial basis (compared to the genus Cyanodode). Eggs can be found in the feces.
Site of adult parasite: small intestine.
Approximate species: Brazilian hookworm.
Distribution: All over the world.
Clinical symptoms: anemia. Puppies get sick with milk infections and can die within a few weeks of life. Diarrhea, constipation, or bloody stools may be seen.
Treatment: Immediate blood transfusion of anemic puppies and then expulsion of adult worms. The larvae trapped in the tissues are constantly swimming out and colonizing the intestine to develop into adults. Therefore, new eggs can also be seen in stool samples collected two weeks after treatment. This form of replanting and development can last from months to years. Drugs that clear adult infections at labeled doses are as follows.
Nematodes, or Nemex®.
22.2% fat grains (Panacur® Granules 22.2%).
Drontal® Plus, not for puppies under 3 weeks of age or weighing less than two pounds).
Heartgard® Plus (not for puppies under 6 weeks of age).
Interceptor® (not for puppies under 6 weeks of age).
Sentinel ™ (not for puppies under 4 weeks of age or weighing less than two pounds).
Sentinel® Flavor Tabs (not for puppies under 4 weeks® of age or weighing less than 11 lbs).
Canine bishydronaphthalate thiopyrimidine tablets [Pyrantel pamoate Tablets, Veterinary Drug Word (2016) 020161048] (translator added).
Trypanosoma wilt
Trypanosoma cruzi
American trypanosomiasis. Spread by bug hunting.
Development cycle: 6 to 9 days.
Diagnosis: the cone-tilatelates in the blood are lowercase "C" shaped, the motility matrix at the end is large, and the biopsy may reveal the absence of flagellar.
Parasitic site: blood and tissue.
Similar species: The flagella-free body segment of Trypanosoma wilt is not easily distinguishable from the flagellar stage of Leishmania spp.; the easy difference is that Trypanosoma wilt can infect many types of cells, while Leishmania spp. infects only macrophages.
Distribution: Americas. American isolates are less pathogenic than South American isolates.
Clinical symptoms: no clinical symptoms. Acute cases (2 to 3 weeks post-infection) are seen primarily in young dogs and present with acute myocarditis (weakness, pale mucosa, anorexia, lymphadenopathy) or diffuse neurologic signs (note that distinguishes from canine distemper). In chronic cases (months to years after infection), dilated cardiomyopathy (weakness / exercise intolerance / ascites / ventricular arrhythmias) occurs.
Underlying zoonotic disease: Infected blood is a potential source of infection for testers, veterinarians, and animal husbandry management technicians.
Treatment: supportive care is required in case of cardiac dysfunction. Benznidazole removes trypanosomiasis from the blood and may alleviate the severity of the disease during chronic infection, but the specific effect in dogs is unknown.
Ragonil® (Benznidazole: 5 mg/kg every 12 hours for 30 days. Side effects include fever, nausea, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Treatment was not stopped until symptoms had lessened, and then treatment was changed to every 24 hours).
Note: Available in the United States only at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
A parasite for cats
Esoteric cat roundworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus
Lung nematodes in cats, acquired by feeding on rodents as well as birds.
Developmental cycle: 5 weeks.
Diagnosis: The larvae (375 μm in length) are active in the stool and are easily isolated by the Baermann funnel method; there is a distinctive dorsal ridge at its tail. Their larvae are readily available by tracheal washing, and there may be an increase in eosinophils in the tracheal rinse. Chest x-ray shows diffuse, contoured nodular shadows, most common in the posterior lobe region of the lungs. Even if clinical symptoms improve, x-rays after treatment may look worse.
Site of adult parasite: between the parenchyma of the lungs.
Similar species: Few nematodes excrete larvae with host feces, but cats are common hosts for these nematodes.
Distribution range: worldwide.
Clinical symptoms: usually no obvious symptoms. General symptoms range from mild cough to severe acute asthma and respiratory distress. It must be distinguished from asthma, heartworm, heart disease and samtozoan infections.
Treatment: asymptomatic cases usually do not require treatment. In severe cases, glucocorticoids (prednisone, 0.5 mg/kg orally every 24 hours for 5 days) will alleviate clinical symptoms. There are currently no suitable drugs that can kill adults, but effective treatment options are as follows.
The damage was exterminated (1% ivermectin injection: 0.4 mg/kg, subcutaneously orally, again at two weeks).
Fat can be sought (Panacur® fenbendazole: 50 mg/kg orally every 24 hours for 5 to 10 days).
Cat towhead roundworm
Toxocara cati
Common feline roundworms. Kittens can be infected with milk.
Developmental cycle: Kittens begin to release eggs as early as 3 to 4 weeks after birth.
Diagnosis: The eggs are spherical in shape, about 80 μm long, and can appear in the feces of cats of all ages. The surface of the egg shell has characteristic notches.
Similar species: Toxascaris leonina the eggs are relatively large, but have a smooth egg shell and are lighter in color.
Distribution: Worldwide distribution.
Clinical symptoms: no typical clinical symptoms. Kittens may show depression and loss of appetite.
Underlying zoonotic disease: larval migration may occur in the internal organs and eyes of children.
Treatment: The following products are used as directed on the label.
Drontal® Tablets (not for kittens less than 4 weeks old or less than 1.5 pounds).
Big Pet (Revolution ™, not for kittens younger than 6 weeks old).
Task® Tabs (not for kittens less than 10 days old or weighing less than 1.0 pounds).
Interceptor® Flavor Tabs (not for kittens less than 6 weeks old or less than 1.5 pounds).
Domestic cat cat hair mite Lynxacarus radovskyi
Cats are infected by direct contact with hair mites.
Diagnosis: These mites may be seen during skin examination or stool examination. It is 500 μm long, flattened on both sides and has a long abdomen; the eggs are about 200 μm long and often adhere to the hair.
Adult parasite site: usually adheres to the cat's hair.
Approximate species: None.
Distribution: Global distribution.
Clinical symptoms: mild dermatitis.
Some of the above pictures are from the Internet
Treatment: There are no approved drugs, but the following drugs are effective.
Defend® Just for Cats ™ (mainly pyrethroids).
Frontline Top Spot® [the® main ingredient is Fipronil] is effective against adult and kittens.
Revolution ™.
This article is excerpted from
"Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Parasitic Diseases in Dogs and Cats"
Author| Dwight Bowman
（Dwight D. Bowman）
Elizabeth Fogetti
（Elizabeth A. Fogarty）
Stephen Charles Barr
（Stephen Charles B arr）
Chief translator| Hu Yanchun and Li Heping
Responsible editor| Xu Yi and Zhang Zhihua
Cover design | Sun Baolin Tian Jing
China Agricultural Science and Technology Press
This book describes in detail the atlas, developmental cycle, diagnosis, location of adult parasites, approximate species, distribution range, clinical symptoms, and treatment of 92 common species of dog/cat parasites. It can provide small animal clinicians and students with fast, accurate and reliable on-site diagnostic information in clinical and experimental environments, scientifically identify the types of parasitic diseases infected by dogs/cats, assess the severity of parasites to dogs and cats, and provide accurate treatment and preventive measures.
This book introduces the basic information of common parasites in dogs/cats, lists potential zoonotic diseases, provides a reference guide for small animal clinicians, students and pet breeders to do a good job of protection before treatment, and enables relevant personnel to do a good job of safe and effective management of sick dogs/cats.