Lungworm

Lungworm is spreading

A warmer climate and the greater freedom for our pets to travel throughout the UK and Europe have led the establishment of several diseases and parasites that were previously unknown in the UK. Lungworm is one such disease.

What is lungworm?

Lungworm is disease that we are treating increasingly regularly. Caused by a parasite called Angiostrongylus vasorum, cases used to be restricted to the south of England in counties such as Devon, Cornwall and Surrey. However, in recent years cases have been identified in the Midlands and even as far north as Scotland. It is carried by foxes and dogs and spread through slugs and snails so is very difficult to avoid.

The spread of this parasite can partly be explained by the easy movement of dogs around the country, but it is likely that the damper, warmer climate is favouring the increase in slugs, snails and frogs which are all involved in the lungworm life-cycle.

SIGNS ASSOCIATED WITH LUNGWORM INFECTION

Coughing
Shortness of breath
Exercise intolerance
Fitting
Kidney Problems
Liver problems

Some dogs may be carriers of the infection without showing any clinical signs.
Due to the way the worm invades the body, the majority of signs will be associated with damage to the heart, lungs and circulation.

Diagnosis of Lungworm

It some cases it can be difficult to make an absolute diagnosis as the methods used to test for the lungworm infection do not detect every case.

We often test for the lungworm larvae in the faeces of dogs using a technique called the Baermanns test.

As the larvae are only shed in the faeces intermittently, to achieve the best results faecal samples must be collected daily for 3 days and stored individually.

If the dog is coughing we may take an x-ray of the chest to identify changes in the lungs and the heart, or we perform a “tracheal wash” to directly identify the parasite in the airways.

Treatment

If caught early enough treatment is successful and any damage caused by the lungworms can often be reversed.

However, with heavy infections or chronic cases the prognosis can be very poor.

To treat a case of lungworm, we would usually prescribe Milbemax tablets once a week for four weeks, or Panacur once daily for seven days.

Prevention

There is no licensed medical product to prevent lungworm, although keeping your dog’s general worm control up to date may help.

Avoid leaving food bowls, bones, chews and toys outside overnight as slugs are likely to visit these. Wash anything that appears to have been contaminated with slime trails.