Here are the facts about the neighbors’ cats using the sandbox, even though my mother and grandmother told me differently:
- Human pinworms, such as Enterobius vermicularis are nonzoonotic intestinal parasitic worms of human hosts.
- Humans are considered to be the only hosts of E vermicularis; therefore, human pinworms cannot originate from pets or other animals and vice versa.
- Like human pinworms, pinworms found in animals such as horses (i.e. Oxyuris equi) or rabbits (i.e. Passalurus ambiguus) are host-specific.
- Human pinworm infection is spread via the fecal–oral route.
Source: Clinician’s Brief, February 2018.
Casey Barton Behravesh, DVM offers client communication tips:
- Pet owners should be advised that, because pinworms are host-specific, dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the spread of human pinworms.
- Owners with questions or concerns about human pinworms should be referred to their healthcare provider.
- Owners should be advised that strict observance of good hand hygiene
- Careful handling and frequent changing of underclothing, night clothes, towels, and bedding can also help reduce infection, reinfection, and environmental contamination.
Also see: What diseases can you catch from a sandbox?, Mother Nature Network, April 2017.
Chanie Kirschner uncovers a menagerie of diseases your child can catch from a sandbox:
- Toxocariasis – Per the CDC, a U.S. study in 1996 showed that 30% of dogs younger than 6 months deposit Toxocara eggs in their feces; other studies have shown that almost all puppies are born already infected with Toxocara canis. Research also suggests that 25% of all cats are infected with Toxocara cati.
- Baylisascaris – often referred to as raccoon roundworm
- Pinworms – child-to-child exposure
INSIGHTS: Let’s clear up the old stories and give our clients and colleagues the real story. Use these materials in social media, websites, blog posts and newsletters to keep our pets and people healthy.