Epidemiologic findings on canine and feline intestinal nematode infections from records of the Iowa state University Veterinary Clinic.

Abstract

A wealth of data was available on intestinal nematode infections of dogs and cats in the Ames, Iowa, practice area served by the Iowa State University Veterinary Clinic. From July 1966 through June 1974, 8.5% of 33,594 dogs and 4.5% of 11,995 cats hospitalized for 1 or more days were recorded as infected with at least 1 type of intestinal nematode. For both dogs and cats, infection rates were generally higher in males than in females and in those that were sexually intact, compared with those that were neutered. The highest prevalence of hookworm infections in both dogs and cats was recorded in June and July, and the highest prevalence of ascarid infections in cats, but not in dogs, was in December. Seasonal patterns were not demonstrated for other nematode infections. Ascarid infections in dogs and cats and hookworms infections in dogs were most prevalent in 2-week-old to 2-month-old animals. Whipworm infections in dogs and hookworm infections in cats generally appeared at greater ages, reaching their highest prevalence in hosts 1 to 2 years old.