Hook worm infection
ANCYLOSTOMIASIS
Synonym: Hook worm disease
Definition
Ancylostomiasis is seen in all animals except in horses and are blood suckers causing chronic haemorrhagic anaemia.
Aetiology
- A.caninum and A. braziliense in dog and cat
- Bunostomum phlebotomum – cattle
- B.trigonocephalum – sheep and goat
Pathogenesis, clinical signs and lesions
- Infected larva released outside, penetrate the skin causing severe dermatitis
- They may even enter through the skin of aberrant host producing a specific dermatitis ( creeping eruption)
- The skin becomes thickened and scaly - 'Cooly's itch,water itch, ground itch'
- The larva reach lungs through veins and break into the alveoli causing haemorrhages and secondary bacterial infection may lead on to pneumonia with fibrosis
- Larvae are coughed up, swallowed and reach the small intestine
- The adult hook worm have buccal tooth like structures and powerful oesophagus with which it draws bits of inflammatory mucosa into their buccal cavity damaging the epithelium and sucks blood.
- An anticoagulant secreted causes flow of blood even after the worm changes position.
- Bacteria may also enter through the denuded epithelium.
- Each parasite may suck 0. 8 to 1ml of blood in 24 hours and the erythrocyte count may drop to 25 per cent of normal.
- Anaemia is hypochromic, microcytic and hyperplasia of the haematopoietic region are seen
- Diarrhoea with dark tarry coloured faeces
- Hyperaemia, emaciation and weakness in chronic cases
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Haemorrhagic enteritis
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Diagonsis
- Symptoms of bottle jaw condition
- Demonstration of eggs in faeces.
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Last modified: Wednesday, 6 June 2012, 2:10 PM