THE COMMON TAPEWORM (Dipylidium caninum) WHY IS IT CALLED A “TAPEWORM?” This creature gets its name because its segments and body are very flat (like a piece of tape). WHAT
DO THEY LOOK LIKE?
The adult tapeworm inside the pet be a half a foot or more long. It is made of small segments, each about the size of a grain of rice. The tapeworm’s head hooks onto the dog’s intestine by tiny teeth and the worm absorbs nutrients through its skin. Each segment contains a complete set of organs but as new segments grow in at the neck area and older segments progress to the tip of the tail, the organs disintegrate except for the reproductive organs. When the segment drops off from the tail tip, it is only a sac of eggs. This
segment is white and able to move
when it is fresh and, at this
time, looks like a grain of white
rice. As the segment dries, it
looks more like a sesame seed.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? There
is no other way for a pet to get
tapeworms except from fleas.
Many people who had thought their pet could not possibly have fleas find out about the infestation this way. The tapeworm segment breaks open releasing its eggs. A larval flea consumes the egg along with the flea dirt that it normally eats. As the larval flea matures, so does the baby tapeworm. When a grooming dog or cat licks the flea and swallows it, the dead flea is digested in the dog’s stomach releasing the baby tapeworm. The tapeworm is passed to its new home in the dog or cat’s small intestine where it attaches and lives its life. This
parasite does not harm the pet
in any way as there are plenty
of nutrients passing by to serve
both the host and its tapeworm
(tapeworms require very little
nutrients.) Still, high performance
dogs, who need every Calorie working
for them, may show a decrease
in performance because of a tapeworm
infection.
HOW
DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR PET HAS
THEM? Because
the eggs are passed by the pet
in packets (segments), they often
do not show up on the fecal exam.
(The packet must break open for
the eggs to be seen.) Consider
that the pet has tapeworms if
segments are seen under its tail,
around its anus, or on its feces.
Segments can be passed in small
groups connected to each other
leading the owner to describe
a worm that sounds larger than
a grain of rice. Tapeworm segments
are also quite flat.
Some
people will mistake maggots in
the stool for tapeworms. Maggots
are not seen in freshly passed
stool and are not flat.
CAN PEOPLE GET THEM? Theoretically,
yes, people can get them but they
must be infected the same way
dogs and cats are: by swallowing
an infected flea.
HOW DO WE GET RID OF THEM? Tapeworms
are killed by different medications
(Our hospital uses one called
“DRONCIT” (brand name
of “ Praziquantel”)
which is administered by injection
or tablet. The tapeworm is killed
and digested with the pet’s
food. It is not passed in the
stool later.
WHY DO SOME VETERINARIANS RECOMMEND TWO REATMENTS AND OTHERS ONLY RECOMMEND ONE TREATMENT? Only
one treatment is needed to kill
tapeworms present; however, many
clinics recommend a second injection
in three weeks. The reason for
the second injection is this:
If the owner finds out at the
time of their office visit that
they need to control fleas to
control tapeworms, they will need
at least a month or so to control
the fleas.
After the first treatment is given, there is no reason why the pet cannot immediately reinfect itself. It probably will reinfect itself at some point. By seeing the animal in three weeks and giving another treatment after the fleas are controlled, there is a good chance that the tapeworms will not just be back three weeks later. It takes three weeks from the time tapeworms are swallowed by the pet to the time segments can be seen by the owner. On
the other hand, who knows when
the pet will swallow another infected
flea? Our recommendation is that
a single treatment be administered
whenever segments are seen.
IF
ONE PET HAS TAPEWORM SEGMENTS,
CAN IT BE ASSUMED No,
just because one pet in the household
has swallowed an infected flea
does not mean they all have. Our
recommendation is to deworm only
the pets who have obvious tapeworms.
WHY MIGHT A PET CONTINUE TO GET TAPEWORM INFECTIONS? While many people would like to blame the medication as having been ineffective, the truth is that there must be an on-going flea population in the pet’s environment. The key to eradicating tapeworms from the home is flea control. For more information on fleas and flea control, click here to go to a special area prepared by the Iowa State Veterinary College: http://www.vetmed.iastate.edu/units/vth/noxon/flea.html#top
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