SALEM, ORE (KELO.com) — Today (Wednesday) is National Dog Day!
The health and safety of dogs should be a top priority for dog owners. Especially in Sioux Falls.
The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) – the nation’s leading source on parasitic diseases that threaten the health of pets and people – yesterday issued the CAPC Top 10 Cities Monthly HOOKWORM Report for the past month – with Sioux Falls, South Dakota ranking #2 in the country.
The new monthly report alerts pet parents, veterinarians and pet-related services about the emerging threat of hookworm – a zoonotic, parasitic disease threatening the health of both pets and people. The report identifies U.S. metro areas experiencing the highest percentage increase in positive hookworm tests in the last 30 days.
“The recent outbreak of COVID-19, with its animal origin, has made people acutely aware of the close relationship between animal and human health – and the need to regularly monitor disease at the local level,” said Dr. Chris Carpenter, DVM and CAPC’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the growing threat of hookworm, CAPC expands its decade-long mission to regularly monitor parasitic diseases in communities across the U.S. with its new CAPC Top 10 Cities Monthly HOOKWORM Report.”
Canine and feline hookworm can be lethal, particularly for puppies and kittens. In national data collected July 1 – 31, 2020, these 10 U.S. cities had the highest percentage increase in positive hookworm tests:
Augusta-Richmond, GA
Sioux Falls, SD
San Francisco, CA
Dover, DE
Waco, TX
Newport News, VA
Cedar Rapids, IA
Manchester, NH
Paterson, NJ
Fort Collins, CO
All pets protected and tested
CAPC recommends that all dogs and cats be protected with monthly broad-spectrum parasite control with efficacy against hookworms year-round. CAPC also recommends puppies and kittens be tested at least four times in the first year of life for hookworms and other intestinal parasites; and at least two times per year in adults – even if they are on year-round preventives. To more closely pinpoint risk areas for hookworm, CAPC Parasite Prevalence Maps (www.capcvet.org) provide hookworm parasite prevalence in every county across the U.S.
“For nearly a decade, CAPC has been a national leader in monitoring parasitic diseases that threaten pets and people with timely, local disease prevalence maps,” Carpenter said. “It’s our hope that the new CAPC Top 10 Cities HOOKWORM Report will prompt important conversations between pet owners and their veterinarians about hookworm protection.”
