Lungworm in Dogs in the UK dog owners please read urgently

had a bit of a scare this morning jack our staffy cross woke at 4:40 in the morning and was panting and shivering and twitching his temperature was up he was very warm
he had been let out for his nightly routine about 2:00 in the morning before going to bed


took him to the vets in the morning and the vet gave him some antibiotics and something to bring his temperature down this seemd to help as he picked up later in the day but coulnd`t find anything obvious
however about 10 hours after the vets he started to show the symptoms again but not as bad

my daughter did some internet investigation and discovered the symptoms could be caused by him eating a slug and although i had never seen any in the garden this evening she had a look


and found quite a few i have now salted the places around where she found them set up a couple or 3 beer traps and today when it gets light i will be totally decimating the area and removing all possible habitats for them  

we have given him his worm treatment early as it is for lung worm the infection dogs can get from slugs  and can be fatal


   There are several types of lungworm which affect dogs in the UK,

Whilst the number of cases of lungworm seems to be increasing, lungworm is much less common than other dog parasites such as fleas, ticks and worms that inhabit the gut,
   Dogs become infected eating a snail or slug who is infected with the disease (ie NOT the slime trail),
   The signs associated with lungworm infection are variable,
   The recommended treatment is Advocate.

Introduction

Although much less common than parasites such as fleas and ticks, the prevalence of lungworm in dogs increasing common in Scotland.  Lungworm is also and has the potential to be life threatening hence it is important to recognise the signs of infection as early as possible and also consider whether routine treatment is indicated.

following information applies solely to dogs.

Common lungworms affecting dogs in the UK

There are two types of lungworm that commonly affect dogs in the UK.

   Angiostrongylus vasosum
   Crenosoma vulpis – the “fox lungworm”

There are others including Oslerus osleri but, as these are less common, I’ve omitted them from this article.
How is lungworm transmitted to dogs?

Most parasites go through a complicated lifecycle made up of several stages starting as an egg then a number of larval stages (larvae are immature forms of the adult parasite) which may require various hosts and migration to various locations within the body (hence the myriad of possible presenting signs) before emerging as the adult form which produces eggs and thereby restarts the cycle.

The life cycle of Angiostrongylus starts on day zero when immature larvae are present in the faeces of an infected dog.  Within 7 days these larvae enter a slug or snail where they mature to the next larval stage. Between days 10-17 these infective larvae enter another dog when it eats a slug or snail (NB – I haven’t found any reference confirming that mollusc slime trails are infectious). About 3 days later larvae can be found in the dog’s abdomen and then they migrate though the body to the lungs where they become mature larvae and then adults who reside the blood vessels supplying the lungs. The adults produce eggs which hatch to release larvae which then migrate into the lungs and get coughed up then swallowed to subsequently re-enter the faeces.

The life cycle of Crenosoma is similar except that the adult worms live in the airways of the lungs.  Again dogs become infected by eating a slug or snail.  Foxes can also be affected this parasite and therefore act as a “reservoir” potentially releasing more larvae into the environment.

Relevance of this complicated life cycle:

   Larvae are not in faeces at all times – a problem for diagnosis if using faecal analysis
   Clinical signs caused by parasite migration may be present before larvae are in the faeces – another potential pitfall if relying on faecal analysis for diagnosis / screening.

What are the signs associated with lungworm

With both types of lungworm signs can be vague and easily confused with other conditions.

Angiostrongylus: signs include coughing, reduced ability to exercise, excessive bleeding from wounds or spontaneous bleeding / bruising, signs of internal bleeding including seizures.  If untreated this can be fatal to dogs usually due to uncontrolled bleeding.

Crenosoma: signs include coughing, breathing difficulties, discharge from nose.  
How is lungworm diagnosed

Traditionally this was done by analysis of a faecal sample using a technique called Baermann flotation (NB this is not part of routine faecal analysis so generally has to be requested as an additional test) which may show larvae of both Angiostrongylus and Crenosoma but bear in mind that larvae may only be present intermittently in the faeces and dogs may show clinical signs such as coughing prior to the larvae being present in the faeces.

Another diagnostic technique used in the investigation of coughing is examination of the lungs using a small camera – a bronchoscope. This is an image taken during bronchoscopy of a dog with Crenosoma infection showing a parasite (the white thread-like structure in centre of image) within one of the airways.

More recently a blood test has become available to test for Angiostrongylus which can produce a result in 15minutes.  This is likely to be much more accurate than testing faecal samples.
Treatment of lungworm in dogs

For Angiostrongylus and Crenosoma the recommended drug treatment is Advocate which contains imidacloprid and moxidectin. This is a spot on preparation which is applied to the back of the dog’s neck.  This drug kills the fourth larval stage and immature adults.

Milbemax (which contains milbemycin) will “reduce the level of infection” with Crenosoma and Angiostrongylus however the dosing schedule is very different to the usual recommended one and care may be required in breeds such as collies who are sometimes sensitive to this group of drugs.

A literature search for “diatomaceous earth & parasites” in PUBMED (a leading medical database ) yielded no objective data that these preparations have been proven to be effective for parasite control in dogs.
http://www.vetsnowreferrals.com/pet-owner-guides/lungworm-in-dogs-in-the-uk/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because of the weather recently slug population is on the rise so please guys take extra notice when you let your dogs out in the garden

it looks like he is on the mend (i hope ) his temperature has dropped and he seems to be breathing normal although he is knackered but more alert and him self when he is awake

Horrible. I hope he's all right.

Original Quill wrote:Horrible.  I hope he's all right.

i think so Q thanks
going to check with the vet but he seems a lot cooler and breathing normally and not panting or shaking sleeping a lot but that`s a good thing
scared the living shit out of me at the time after loosing Bella 20 months ago
but i can tell you the slugs in my garden are in for a war tomorrow :-)

Thanks for that KD, glad your dog seems to be getting better, you must have been really worried.

Sorry to hear about your dog KD, hope he improves today x

I thought slugs and snails tasted vile to dogs so that they didn't actually ingest them??