You may have suspected something was amiss, or maybe you were just running your annual fecal parasite screen. When your Media City Animal Hospital Veterinarian reports that your pet has Giardia, here's what you need to know.
How did my pet get Giardia?
Giardia lives in the gut of an animal. They are expelled in fresh stool and can contaminate water and soil and can live in animal fur in their cyst form. Your pet either drank contaminated water, licked another pet who was shedding Giardia cysts, or came into contact with feces that contained Giardia.
What is Giardia?
Giardia is a little microorganism that swims around in the host's intestine that attach with suction-mouths to the lining of the gut. They have two forms, a trophozoite "troph" and a cyst. The troph is the parasitic form, and the cyst is the infectious form that sheds in fresh feces. Both are detectable in a laboratory after about 5 days.
The classic symptom of Giardia is diarrhea, but some pets are asymptomatic carriers.
How to Eliminate Giardia:
Treating Giardia has two parts: medication and prevention of reinfection. You will need to be diligent about cleaning your pet and their environment outside while the medication does its job inside.
Medication: A combination of medications is usually prescribed for Giardia infection. Metronidazole, an antibiotic with some anti-inflammatory properties, and/or a de-wormer called Fenbendazole.
Prevention of Reinfection: During the course of treatment, you will need to bathe your pet at least once to clear away the cysts that may have attached to your pet's fur. You will want to clean their environment as well, paying special attention to the areas in your yard where your pet deposits their stool. Giardia cysts remain viable for several months once expelled, so be thorough when cleaning these areas. You will want to immediately clean any stool deposited by your pet during treatment, and wipe your pet's paws off after a bowel movement before they have a chance to groom themselves. Wiping their bottom with a wipe is an extra measure of protection against reinfection.
Once treatment is finished, you will resubmit a fecal sample to the lab for a parasite screen to confirm no more trophs or cysts are seen.
Can I get Giardia from my pet?
It's unlikely. It would require contact with the cysts in the same way your pet was exposed, which is probably not going to happen. But if you don't want to leave that to chance, wear gloves when handling your pet's feces and wash your hands before eating.
As an experienced veterinary professional with a comprehensive understanding of various pet health issues, including parasitic infections, I can confidently delve into the content provided in the article by Katie Taylor, MA, CVPM. My expertise in this field is substantiated by years of practical experience and academic training, making me well-equipped to elucidate the concepts mentioned.
The article primarily focuses on Giardia, a parasitic microorganism that can affect pets. Giardia resides in the gastrointestinal tract of animals, where it attaches itself with suction-mouths to the lining of the gut. The two forms of Giardia mentioned are the trophozoite (troph) and the cyst. The troph is the parasitic form, while the cyst is the infectious form that is shed in fresh feces. Both forms are detectable in a laboratory after about 5 days.
The transmission of Giardia occurs through the ingestion of contaminated water or contact with feces containing Giardia. The article outlines potential sources of contamination, such as drinking contaminated water, licking another pet shedding Giardia cysts, or coming into contact with feces that contain Giardia.
Symptoms of Giardia infection include diarrhea, although some pets may be asymptomatic carriers. Treatment involves a combination of medications, such as Metronidazole (an antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties) and/or Fenbendazole (a dewormer). Additionally, preventing reinfection is crucial during the treatment process. This involves meticulous cleaning of the pet and their environment, including bathing the pet to remove cysts attached to their fur and thoroughly cleaning areas where the pet deposits stool.
The article emphasizes the importance of submitting a fecal sample to the lab after treatment to confirm the absence of trophs or cysts, ensuring the efficacy of the treatment. It also addresses a common concern: the potential for humans to contract Giardia from their pets. The likelihood is deemed low, but precautions such as wearing gloves when handling pet feces and practicing proper hygiene are recommended.
In conclusion, the article provides valuable insights into the causes, symptoms, treatment, and prevention of Giardia in pets, offering practical advice for pet owners to ensure the health and well-being of their furry companions.
Cysts are hardy and can survive in the surrounding environment for months. They are instantly infectious, and just a few ingested cysts can cause infection. A dog could easily get reinfected by grooming themselves, for example, if cysts remain on their fur, paw pads or hind end.
Occasionally you have some dogs who are able to suppress the Giardia on their own and they don't look like they're sick. Even so, they can be transmitting the Giardia to other dogs in the park, so it is important to test for it by doing a fecal sample and if positive, treat it.
If my pet has a Giardia infection, how do I clean and disinfect my house?
Cleaning. Wear gloves. If feces are on a carpet or upholstered furniture, remove them with absorbent material (for example, double layered paper towels). ...
Disinfection. Wear gloves. Steam clean the area at 158ºF for 5 minutes or 212ºF for 1 minute.
Some strains of giardia are very resistant to treatment, but more often continually positive giardia tests are the result of re- infections than treatment failure. Here are the most common causes of reinfection: 1) Giardia are cysts are clinging to the pets fur. The pet then grooms itself and ingests more giardia.
Many people who do have problems often get better on their own in a few weeks. When signs and symptoms are severe or the infection persists, doctors usually treat giardia infection with medications such as: Metronidazole (Flagyl). Metronidazole is the most commonly used antibiotic for giardia infection.
Most dogs with giardia recover completely in five to eight days, and they should be retested 24 to 48 hours after treatment is completed to ensure cyst shedding is resolved. During giardia treatment, some dogs benefit from probiotics or fiber added to their food.
Infected dogs can shed cysts continually over several days or weeks, but the shedding is often intermittent, especially if a dog has chronic Giardiasis. However, even though the infective cysts may be shed intermittently, they can survive for months in a cool, damp environment.
Can I get Giardia from my dog licking me? Fortunately, the risk of humans contracting Giardia from dogs is relatively low, but it can happen. Make sure to wash your hands after handling your dog's poop to reduce this low risk. In humans, giardia transmission commonly occurs via drinking water, not from pets.
You are unlikely to get a Giardia infection from your dog or cat. These steps can reduce your risk even further: Wear gloves when gardening to avoid touching poop or soil containing Giardia. Clean and disinfect regularly, especially pet items like toys, crates, and bowls.
For fungal pathogens, reliable decontamination can be achieved by laundering at 60°C, regardless of the textiles and detergents used. Temperatures of ≥56°C will kill 99% of Giardia cysts. The temperature needed for decontamination depends on washing time and detergent type.
Giardia can be killed & inactivated using 2-5% Lysol or, a 1% chlorine bleach solution. Here is a list of common environmental areas & surfaces to clean: 1.
If your dog has Giardia, there are many precautious you should take at home: Dogs with Giardia should be bathed 1 – 2 times a week to remove cysts from the fur and prevent re-infection. Any dog beds, bowls, toys, or things the infected dog came into contact with should be washed.
The chance of you getting Giardia from dogs or cats is low, as the type of Giardia that infects them is generally not the same type that infects humans. If you own exotic pets or other household pets, contact your veterinarian for more information and guidance.
For giardia: If the weather is below 77 degrees, then the yard will have giardia cysts present for at least a month. If the weather is consistently hotter than 77 degrees, then the giardia cysts will have all died off after one week.
Giardia can be treated with prescription medication, which typically must be administered several times daily for 10 day or more. It's not unusual for treatment to have to be repeated in stubborn cases of giardiasis. Young pets may harbor the organism - and keep re-infecting themselves - for up to a YEAR.
Most healthy dogs that are treated for giardiasis will clear the infection within a week to 10 days, assuming that they don't reinfect themselves. This is why it's vital to disinfect their environment, bathe them, and clean up their feces. Young puppies or older dogs may need a longer course of treatment.
Address: 998 Estell Village, Lake Oscarberg, SD 48713-6877
Phone: +21813267449721
Job: Technology Engineer
Hobby: Swimming, Do it yourself, Beekeeping, Lapidary, Cosplaying, Hiking, Graffiti
Introduction: My name is Reed Wilderman, I am a faithful, bright, lucky, adventurous, lively, rich, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
