Canine whipworms | Whipworms in dogs

Whipworms in dogs

Trichuris Vulpis is principally found in the Eastern United States. Dogs with whipworms acquire the infection by ingesting ova; the adults burrow into the colonic and cecal mucosa and may cause inflammation, bleeding and intestinal protein loss. Dogs and rarely cats acquire whipworms, which produces a wide spectrum of mild to severe colonic disease, including hematochezia and protein-losing enteropathy. Severe trichuriasis may cause hyponatremia and hyperkalemia, mimicking hypoadrenocorticism. The marked hyponatremia might be responsible for the CNS signs (e.g., seizures) sometimes attributed to whipworm in dogs.

Whipworms in dogs should always be sought in dogs with bloody stools or other colonic diseases. Diagnosis is made through finding ova in the feces or seeing the adults at endoscopic evaluation. However, these ova are relatively dense and float only in properly prepared flotation solutions. Furthermore, ova are shed intermittently and sometimes can be found only if multiple fecal examinations are performed.

Because of the potential difficulty in diagnosing whipworms in dogs, it is reasonable to empirically treat dogs with chronic large bowel disease with fenbendazole or other appropriate drugs before proceeding to endoscopy. If a dog is treated for whipworms, it should be treated again in 3 months to kill worms that were not in the intestinal lumen at the time of the first treatment. The ova persist in the environment for long periods. The prognosis for recovery is good for whipworms in dogs.

Canine whipworms diagnostic plan:

History
Physical examination
Stool analysis
Colonoscopy
Therapeutic deworming

Canine whipworms treatment:

Dewormers
Supportive therapy

Canine whipworms dietary plan:

Case by case.
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