Routine Fecal Testing
Believe it or not, there’s a week coming up in April honoring “National Scoop the Poop Week,” from April 23-29, 2023. While this may seem a bit humorous, unscooped dog waste is no laughing matter.
At our Arlington offices, 4-5% of our patient’s fecal tests are “positive,” or show evidence of at least one of the more common intestinal parasites. The most common helminths or parasitic worms in our area are hookworms and roundworms, both of which can be transmitted to people via the fecal-oral route, usually in the very young or immunosuppressed.
We also frequently diagnose Giardiasis, which is an infection with the parasitic protozoa Giardia. Giardia can also be transmitted to people, though the subspecies tend to be fairly species specific. Additionally, we see Coccidia, another protozoal parasite, with some regularity. Each of these parasites can be found all around us – primarily in the soil and/or water in the case of Giardia - and our pets are exposed even with routine daily activities.
The Companion Animal Parasite Council recommends routine biannual fecal screening, as often parasites may be present without causing significant clinical signs initially. Routine screening is even more important in a dense area such as Arlington, where many pets are sharing the same communal areas.
As an example of the importance of routine screening, one of our favorite staff pets - Dillon - was in this past week for a visit and her very responsible pet mom (our awesome practice manager Jennie) brought in a fecal sample for routine testing – it turns out Dillon has been carrying Giardia. She has been completely asymptomatic, but would be likely to break with symptoms if she were stressed. Fortunately, this is typically effectively treated with a single round of prescription medication, and quickly cleared from the system, though without treatment she would continue to pass this in her stool and further contaminate the environment. We’ve included her lab results above, showing she’s historically tested negative for Giardia!
Clearly unscooped poop is no good - we implore you to please “scoop the poop” and dispose of it properly – not only for the health of your pet, but for all Arlington pups (and cats too!).
Written by Dr. Natasha Ungerer