HoundBlog

I received an email last night authored by a veterinarian who recently attended a conference. One of the speakers was an authority on parasites (sorry — I don’t remember his name, but do still have the email, so if you need to know who, what and where, drop me a line and I’ll look it all up). His talk was on form of ascarid (round worm) who’s primary host is actually raccoons, but which can and will cross species to dogs and humans (but curiously, not cats).

This worm is particuarly dangerous to humans as one of it’s stages migrates to the brain and can cause blindness in children and other problems in adults. The upshot is, if you live in an area where raccoons are, watch out for their feces (they like to poop on roofs, at the base of trees and in mulch, straw or hay) and keep your pets and children away from it. If you suspect that your pet or child has been exposed, the pet needs to undergo a treatment of de-wormer such as Drontal or Pyrantel Pamoate and your child should see his/her physician for appropriate treatment.