Parasite Classifications
Lives in or on another organism (host) and uses its nutrients to survive, offering no benefit in return to the host.
What are parasites?
Spread by mosquitoes. Much easier to prevent than treat.
What is heartworm?
Common vectors in carrying disease. Only 1 bite required to transmit a disease.
What are ticks?
Fecal gross exam, fecal float and direct fecal smear are the common 3 components.
What is a routine fecal?
Type of drug that is typically named for the medicinal ingredient.
What is generic?
Live outside body or within skin.
What are ectoparasites?
Can get from drinking contaminated water. Causes malabsorptive diarrhea.
What is giardia?
Carried the plague. Can also carry tapeworm and tularemia.
What are fleas?
Very useful for looking for mobile protozoa like Giardia.
What is a fecal wet mount?
Absorbed through skin, into blood and all over body so can kill endoparasites and ectoparasites.
What is a topical medication?
“Worms”, made up of multiple cells and larger than protozoa. Usually endoparasites.
What are helminths?
Dogs and cats can get from ingesting larvated eggs in environment, ingesting other vertebrate that had ingested larvated eggs, or milk ingestion from infected mother.
What are ascarids (roundworms)?
Spends entire life cycle on the pet. Is species specific.
What are lice?
Take a scalpel blade and scrape against skin.
What is a skin scraping?
Common medication to use in 2-week-old pets, pregnant or lactating pets.
What is pyrantel pamoate?
Life cycle that requires an intermediate host to complete cycle.
What is an indirect life cycle?
Trematode that causes “Swimmer’s Itch”.
What are schistosomes?
Infects hair follicles/sebaceous glands (deeper in skin). Also infects people (separate species).
What is demodex?
Using the flea comb to grab some dirt and place it on a wet towel to see if you get red discharge.
What is a flea dirt exam?
Defective protein so they are not able to remove medications from brain. Medications build up to toxic levels.
What is MDR1 variant?
When a parasite enters a wrong host.
What is an aberrant parasite?
Have head, neck and number of segments. Can attach to intestinal wall.
What are tapeworms?
Term used to describe animals with mite infestations.
What is mange?
Type of WBC that may be elevated in parasitic or allergic responses.
What are eosinophils?
Causes v/d, tremors, ataxia, seizures and/or death if used on cats.
What is permethrin?