An in-depth look at statistics extracted from data collected from the medical records of nearly 2.3 million dogs and 470,000 cats presented to more than 850 Banfield Pet Hospitals in 2013.
In each issue of Today’s Veterinary Practice, Pet Health by the Numberscorrelates specific article topics with statistics provided by Banfield Pet Hospital (banfield.com). These statistics are extracted from data collected from the medical records of nearly 2.3 million dogs and 470,000 cats presented to more than 850 Banfield Pet Hospitals in 2013.
Learn more about data collection by reading Welcome to Pet Health by the Numbers (January/February 2014 issue) and Key Findings from the State of Pet Health Report 2014 (May/June 2014 issue), both available at tvpjournal.com.article
PARASITE PROTOCOLS: FELINE HELMINTHS
The following tables outline the prevalence of GI helminths in dogs and cats presented to Banfield Pet Hospitals in 2013. Prevalence is calculated as the number of positive tests divided by number of tests performed.
|
Prevalence of Canine GI Helminths by Age (2013) |
|||||
| Parasite | All Dogs Combined |
Juvenile (< 1 year) |
Young Adult (1—3 years) |
Mature Adult (3—10 years) |
Geriatric (> 10 years) |
| TOTAL TESTS PERFORMED* | 2,594,599 | 665,517 | 560,057 | 1,155,318 |
213,580 |
| Hookworm | 1.35% | 3.85% | 0.79% | 0.38% | 0.31% |
| Roundworm | 1.42% | 5.01% | 0.26% | 0.14% | 0.14% |
| Tapeworm | 0.60% | 1.46% | 0.36% | 0.25% | 0.35% |
| Whipworm | 0.33% | 0.46% | 0.46% | 0.21% | 0.19% |
| Prevalence of Feline GI Helminths by Age (2013) | |||||
| Parasite | All Cats Combined |
Juvenile (< 1 year) |
Young Adult (1—3 years) |
Mature Adult (3—10 years) |
Geriatric (> 10 years) |
| TOTAL TESTS PERFORMED* | 319,535 |
90,595 |
65,026 |
118,020 |
45,876 |
| Hookworm | 0.31% | 0.77% | 0.24% | 0.10% | 0.04% |
| Roundworm | 1.62% | 4.87% | 0.62% | 0.26% | 0.11% |
| Tapeworm | 2.44% | 3.31% | 3.48% | 1.86% | 0.72% |
| Whipworm | 0.02% | 0.05% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.00% |
| * Animals without a reliable age on record (127 dogs, 18 cats) are not included in the age categories. | |||||
Path to Pet Wellness: Parasite control remains a major effort for the practicing veterinarian. The data reflects trends in prevalence of major  internal parasites of dogs and cats. Though lower than that seen in shelter animals,1,2 the data clearly indicates that internal parasites remain  prevalent in pets, even though they presumably receive some parasite control medications.
The results are as expected, when we group pets by age. Roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms are more common in puppies, kittens, and young  adults. Canine whipworm is more difficult to detect, due to egg weight causing difficulty in egg recovery by fecal flotation, and intermittent shedding  of eggs.
Clearly, these results should serve as a reminder to veterinarians and pet owners that we cannot relax our emphasis on year-round broad spectrum internal parasite control. For more information, visit the Companion Animal Parasite Council website at capcvet.org.
—Byron Blagburn, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVM (Hon)
References
- Blagburn BL, Butler J, Mount J, et al. Prevalence of internal parasites in shelter cats based on centrifugal fecal flotation. AAVP Proc, 2014, p 79.
- Blagburn BL, Butler J, Mount J, et al. Prevalence of internal parasites in shelter dogs based on centrifugal fecal flotation. AAVP Proc, 2014, p 80.