Health and Medical Author: Elisheva Wiriaatmadja

Pet owners usually know that their cats and dogs should be regularly tested for worm infection by worms and regularly given worm medication for prevention.However, in this financial crunch, it is easier for people to just become complacent than having to spend their hard-earned money on worms.

What people sometimes do not understand is that worms carried by their pets pose a health risk not only to them but also to other animals and their owners. There are different kinds of worms that your cat and dog may be carrying and each type of worm can cause different levels of harm. Continue reading the article below and you will find that preventing your pet and family from a worm infection is really money well spent.

Roundworms are transmitted through their microscopic eggs found in the faeces of an infected animal. The worms can survive for 3 years even if the faeces have long gone. If a human got roundworm eggs on their hand and eat with their hands without washing them, they may swallow the eggs and get infected. Puppies are known as born carriers of roundworms. Roundworm eggs are found in the faeces by infecte animals and long after the faeces disappears, they can survive for 3 years. Humans can get infected by swallowing the eggs if they get them on their hands and handle food without washing them.

The three kinds of tapeworms are Echinococcus, Taenia and Dipylidium. The Taenia is the most commonly known throughout the UK. They don't pose any health risk to man, cats or dogs. However, this kind of tapeworm infections usually causes cysts in sheep and cattle which make them unfit for sale.

Hookworm eggs infect your pet and, very occasionaly, man as well if its larvae are burrowed into the skin through the feet or accidentally swallowed.

Heartworms are mostly found in all the states in the USA and not in the UK. If your pet has light infection of heartoworm, your cats and dogs will most likely not show any symptoms at all. However, heavy infection can cause anaemia and even death.

Now that you know the different kinds of worm infection and also the health risk it takes to your family as well, will hopefully make you realise that spending money on worm prevention is a wise thing to do.

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