Roundworm Parasite
Pets can pick up Toxocara worm eggs if they come in contact with contaminated soil or infected birds or mice. The eggs can survive in the environment for a long time. Roundworms can affect both cats and dogs and even humans!
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Roundworms are large white worms, with cylindrical bodies.
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The adults live in the small intestine and feed on the gut contents.
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puppies are usually born infected with roundworms; kittens and puppies can also become infected via their mother's milk.
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Pets can contract roundworm by swallowing infected eggs from the environment.
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If your pet likes hunting, then they can also be at risk of roundworm infections, by ingesting a paratenic host - such as rats, mice or birds.
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Symptoms can include a pot belly, porr coat, diarrhoea, and poor growth, but often there are no outward signs.
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This parasite can also affect humans; although disease is not common, it can be devastating as larvae can migrate within body tissues and in extreme cases have reached the ye causing blindness.
