Parasite Prevention
Prevention is VITAL for a healthy pet!
Fleas
Fleas are wingless insects that are capable of jumping great heights. They are quite tough and can live up to 100 days on their hosts and lay anywhere from 20 to 40 eggs per day. Fleas prefer warm temperatures, making your pet an ideal host. To prevent fleas from infecting your pet, it’s important to get them started right away on a flea prevention medication to prevent diseases such as bartonellosis and tapeworm.
Ticks
Ticks are a type of arachnid that spends most of their lives living off of their host. Ticks are capable of laying thousands of eggs at one time, and can survive even in near freezing temperatures. Compared to fleas, ticks are much more resilient and tougher to kill. Many potentially deadly diseases such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are transmitted from ticks, so it’s crucial to protect your family pet against ticks.
Parasites
Intestinal parasites include four common worms and a few species of microscope protozoan. The common worms are roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Coccidia, toxoplasmosis and giardia are a few varieties of the protozoa.
External parasites include fleas, ticks, mites, and lice. These parasites not only cause discomfort, scratching, and skin infections but they can also transmit several serious diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasmosis, Erlichiosis, Babeseosis, Tularemia, Typhus, Plague, Hemobartonellosis, Bartonellosis, and more.
Prevention and treatment
It is important to bring your pet in for regular exams to check for the presence of fleas, ticks, and parasites. Your pet should be checked more frequently if he or she has frequent contact with other animals at boarding facilities or groomers, as this increases the risk of infection. With regular examinations and testing, we can help protect your pet and family against fleas, ticks, and parasites. At Goose Creek Pet Hospital, we offer heartworm testing and in most cases we will test for Erlichia and Lyme Disease as well.
