Can Humans Get Parasites From Dogs?

If your dog has parasites, you should be careful, too.

can humans get parasites from dogs

It’s no fun if your dog has a parasite. And you might start to wonder if you can get infected from your sick pup.

There are a few parasites that humans can get from dogs, which are known as zoonotic parasites. But once you learn how your pup could pass that infection to you, you’ll know how to keep yourself safe.

The Dodo spoke with Dr. Michelle Burch, a veterinarian from Safe Hounds Pet Insurance, to find out everything you need to know about the parasites humans can get from dogs.

Which parasites can be passed from dogs to humans?

“The parasites which can be passed from dogs to humans include roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia and scabies,” Dr. Burch told The Dodo.

Roundworm

Roundworms live in your dog’s intestines and eat the food in his system that hasn’t been fully digested. The problem with that is your pup won’t end up getting the nutrients from the food the worms eat, which can lead to malnourishment in some dogs.

Humans can get roundworms from dogs by consuming the worms’ eggs, which an infected pup can pass through his poop.

“Humans can become infected with roundworms from ingestion of infective eggs from a contaminated environment,” Dr. Burch said. “The most common location of environmental contamination includes parks, sandboxes, playgrounds and gardens.”

If a person gets roundworm, it’ll appear in a couple different forms.

“​​People can also develop two diseases associated with roundworm infection, including visceral larva migrans (VLM) and ocular larva migrans (OLM),” Dr. Burch said. “In these associated diseases, the eggs hatch in the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream. The larvae then travel to other body parts, including the liver, lungs, eyes, brain [and] heart.”

The complications from VLM and OLM can be pretty serious.

“VLM can cause fever, coughing, belly pain, enlarged liver, weight loss and headaches,” Dr. Burch said. “VLM occurs mainly in children and can be fatal. Symptoms of OLM include abnormal eye movement, detachment of the retina, uveitis and blindness.”

Hookworm

Hookworms are worms that attach themselves to the walls of your dog’s intestines with their mouths.

The good news is that adult hookworms don’t pass from dogs to humans. However, the larvae can.

“Humans can contract hookworms,” Dr. Burch said. “Infections occur when bare skin contacts infective larva in contaminated soil or sand with dog or cat feces.” So unlike roundworms, which you need to eat in order to become infected, you only need to touch the larvae to get hookworms.

Sometimes the hookworms can make their way not just through your skin, but through the rest of your body. Occasionally, these worms could end up in your intestines, causing issues like diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Tapeworm

Tapeworms live in your dog’s intestines and can grow to be about a foot long. Your dog can only get tapeworm by eating an infected flea.

And it turns out, the same goes for humans.

“Infection occurs from ingestion of infected fleas and not directly from your [pet],” Dr. Burch said.

While people don’t go around eating fleas, you can still get tapeworms if you accidentally swallow a flea infected with the parasite.

Giardia

Unlike the above parasites, giardia isn’t a worm. It’s actually a protozoa, aka a single-celled organism, that can cause diarrhea in dogs and humans.

Giardia can be passed through an infected animal’s poop — including from your dog’s poop to you.

“Transmission of giardia from dog to human occurs with poor hygiene when handling infected feces,” Dr. Burch said. “With improper hygiene, fecal particles can still be present on a person's hands and then ingested during a meal or snack. Children and individuals with a weakened immune system are at the highest risk of infection.”

Scabies

Scabies (aka mange) happens when your dog is infected with skin mites. These mites will make your pup super itchy, which can cause hair loss or scabs.

People can get scabies from dogs just by touching an infected pup.

“Scabies is transmitted from dogs to people by contact with an infected animal,” Dr. Burch said.

You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if you picked up scabies from your dog.

“People who contract scabies will develop skin lesions within 24 hours after exposure,” Dr. Burch said. “The skin lesions can persist for up to 21 days after infection. The most common areas for lesions to occur are the arms, neck and waistline.”

How to prevent parasites passing from dogs to humans

One of the biggest things you can do to avoid getting a parasite from your dog is to stay on top of your personal hygiene.

Humans often get parasites from dogs due to poor hygiene habits, particularly after coming into contact with certain things in their environment (like soil or dog poop).

“I recommend that all family members practice good personal hygiene with hand washing and keep their fingers away from their mouths if they are dirty,” Dr. Burch said.

Making sure your environment is clean is just as crucial.

“Promptly pick up and dispose of feces from your dog,” Dr. Burch said. “Feces left in the environment increases the risk of transmission of parasites from dog to person.”

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It’s also important to make sure your pet never gets infected with the parasite, which can keep him healthy and reduce the chances he’ll pass the parasite to you.

For one, you should keep a close eye on your dog outside and stop him if he starts sniffing around — or even trying to eat — a pile of poop.

Also, preventatives, flea medication and dewormers are essential for keeping your dog from getting a parasite in the first place.

“​​Dogs should be on a year-round flea and intestinal parasite prevention to minimize their risk of contracting a parasite,” Dr. Burch said. “If you reduce your dog's risk, then you will reduce your risk.”

Sentinel is a vet-recommended monthly oral preventative that can protect your dog against heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and fleas. It’s available for dogs in the following weight ranges:

While it can be scary to think you can get a parasite from your dog, you can keep your pup — and yourself — safe by staying on top of your personal hygiene, cleaning up after your pet and giving him preventatives regularly.

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