Lungworm (Angiostrongylus vasorum)

Lungworm is a parasite that can cause severe illness and even death in dogs.

Your dog is at risk of lungworm if they eat grass or drink water outdoors as they often inadvertently eat slugs, snails, or their slime by doing so.

Despite its name, the parasite travels around the body and can cause bleeding disorders, heart failure, breathing difficulties, seizures, and even death.

Signs of lungworm:

The signs of lungworm are often vague and can vary, so they can be difficult to spot. Some dogs can show no signs at all.

Clinical signs can include:

Coughing
Breathing problems
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Unexplained bruising and bleeding
Bleeding for longer from a minor injury, like a small cut.

How do dogs get lungworm?

Dogs catch lungworm by eating infected slugs and snails, which often happens by accident while eating grass or drinking outside.

Dogs cannot pass the disease directly from dog to dog, but they poo of an infected dog will contain larvae. This infects more slugs and snails who are eaten by more dogs, so the parasite can spread quickly.

Can I prevent my dogs from getting lungworm?

You can protect your dog(s) by speaking to your vet about the right parasite control and staying alert to the outdoor risks. We also advise against leaving toys and bowls outside, where slugs and snails can crawl over them.

What is the treatment for lungworm?

If caught and treated early enough, most dogs will recover from lungworm. The type of treatment depends on how severe the condition is. However, a small number of dogs may have lung scarring afterwards.

If you think your dog might have lungworm, contact your vet immediately, as left untreated it can be very serious and even fatal.

Can humans get lungworm?

No. Lungworm is not known to infect humans.

However, there are other types of worms, such as: roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and whipworms – which can be transmitted from pets to humans, so it’s crucial your regularly de-worm your dog.

How do the worms cause issues?

The eggs laid by the adults hatch out in the bloodstream. The larvae then crawl into the airways of the lungs. These wriggling creatures in the lungs stimulate a cough, so they are coughed up, and then swallowed.

Once in the intestine, the larvae don’t stop – they keep moving through until they are passed in the dog’s faeces. Once out in the environment, the larvae infect passing slugs or snails, and inside their bodies, the worms develop into their infective stage.

Another reason it is so important to pick up and dispose of dog poo!!!

The presence of a foreign body in a blood vessel would normally result in a blood clot forming to immobilise it. However, the worms don’t want that to happen and so secrete a biological blood thinner, to prevent the dog’s blood from clotting around them. This severely damages the dog’s ability to clot their blood. Eventually, if untreated, the dog may deteriorate to the point where they lose weight and condition due to anaemia, or even bleed to death.