Johannesburg, 13 January 2025 – Whether they are playing in the garden, exploring the local park or bounding through a field chasing birds, South Africa’s furry companions have a great life. Unfortunately, even the great suburban outdoors can come with consequences, most typically in the form of ticks, fleas, roundworm or hookworm infestations.
“Dogs that play outdoors and have access to other dogs, parks, playgrounds, raw meat or even prey animals, are all at risk of contracting worms or finding themselves host to fleas or ticks,” says Dr Tarryn Dent, Business Unit Lead: Companion Animals at Zoetis South Africa, a global animal health company. “As South Africans, we’re a nation that lives outdoors and our pets do too. Walk around any suburb and you’ll see dogs being taken for walks, playing in local parks, or exploring nature. Even in gardens, dogs can typically be found searching in bushes for interesting flora and fauna. These are all ideal ways to pick up worms and external parasites.”
Combating common parasitic infections
When a family dog contracts a parasitic infection like hookworm or roundworms, the impact can be significant, both emotionally and practically. Initially, there is often considerable distress upon discovering that a pet is suffering from worms, which can cause a range of health issues in dogs, including weight loss, diarrhoea, vomiting, and a general decline in energy levels. These symptoms can be alarming and distressing for pet owners, leading to worry and concern about the overall well-being of their furry family member.
The presence of these parasites can also pose health risks to family members, especially young children, or individuals with weakened immune systems. Roundworms, in particular, can be transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated soil or faeces which can cause serious health issues, including affecting internal organs like the liver, lungs and heart.
Tick bites can cause even more damage. A dog bitten by a tick can contract biliary or tick bite fever, two common and potentially life-threatening diseases. Biliary leads to the destruction of red blood cells, resulting in severe anaemia, lethargy, loss of appetite, and pale gums, while tick bite fever weakens the immune system, causing fever, swollen lymph nodes, bleeding disorders, and in chronic cases, organ damage. Both conditions require prompt veterinary attention and treatment, as delayed care can significantly worsen the prognosis. Proactive and regular tick prevention is far better than the cure when it comes to safeguarding a dog’s health.
Finally, fleas and mites, while not life-threatening, can severely impact a pet’s life. Fleas can be directly responsible for allergic reactions, tapeworm infestations, and intense discomfort, while mites are responsible for conditions like mange, skin irritation, hair loss, and infections if left untreated.
“In South Africa’s warm and varied climate, these external parasites thrive year-round, putting dogs at constant risk of infestation,” says Dr Dent.
The hidden threat of Intestinal worms
The most common worms that infect dogs (and humans through their pets), are roundworms and hookworms and to a lesser extent, tapeworm. Fleas are the intermediate host for tapeworm, which means controlling flea infestations automatically controls tapeworms. Let’s take a look at the two most common worm infections.
Roundworms: Roundworms are the most common intestinal parasites in dogs, particularly in puppies. They inhabit the intestinal tract and can also infect humans, usually through the ingestion of eggs from contaminated soil. In puppies, symptoms of roundworm infection include a pot-bellied appearance and gastrointestinal issues such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and excessive gas. Severe infestations can lead to intestinal obstruction. In adult dogs, symptoms are generally noticeable only if the dog has underlying health issues. Infected dogs may become malnourished and exhibit gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as coughing due to larvae migrating to the lungs.
Hookworms: Hookworms measure about 1.25 to 2.5 cms. They attach to the lining of the small intestines, feeding on blood. The primary symptom of hookworm infection is gastrointestinal upset. Other symptoms include pale gums due to blood loss, weight loss, bloody diarrhoea, general weakness, a dry and dull coat, coughing, and skin issues. Infected puppies may fail to develop properly, and severe infections in young puppies can be fatal due to significant blood loss. Humans can become infected by ingesting larvae or by walking barefoot on contaminated soil.
“From a practical standpoint, treating a dog for intestinal worms would usually involve veterinary visits, medications, and sometimes follow-up treatments to ensure the parasites are fully eradicated,” says Dent. “Our data shows that even though best practice depending on the dog’s risk is to treat for the most common worms between six and 12 times a year, most pet owners do not proactively deworm their dogs. There are few reasons for this, but veterinarians we work closely with believe the primary causes are that owners do not want to give their dogs multiple treatments at once and life is busy.”
Unfortunately, without regular deworming, the chances of family pets picking up a parasitic infestation are high, and with children playing in gardens barefoot and snuggling the family, the infestation can quickly spread.
“At Zoetis, we work closely with veterinarians to gain insights into what pet owners care about and how their day-to-day lives work,” says Dent. “The Simparica Trio all-in-one tablet was a result of this collaboration. It’s one tasty chewable tablet that proactively combats worms, ticks, fleas and mites every month. It’s far more convenient for at risk dogs than multiple tablets and suits busy lifestyles, particularly when veterinarians can send reminder messages each month. This is definitely a case where prevention is better than the cure.”
Over and above proactive treatments for worms and fleas, pet owners should keep households clean to prevent the spread of parasites. Proper environmental hygiene includes cleaning up poop immediately, treating their home for fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes, and routinely grooming the family dogs. It’s also a good idea to properly deworm puppies and then provide year-round prevention for all dogs, starting with puppies as young as eight weeks.