What kind of Parasites can a Dog Get?

Dogs and puppies can pass germs, diseases and worms on to people, but it does not occur often. There are certain precautions that you can take to help prevent this from happening. First and foremost, make sure that the dog or puppy you are playing with looks healthy. Do not touch or contact an obviously sick dog. Make sure that your personal dog has regular check ups and is checked for worms by your veterinarian. Look for obvious signs of disease such as spots missing fur on your dog. 

One of the best lines of defense from getting sick from contact with a dog is to wash your hands well, especially with anti-bacterial soap. After dog or puppy contact, keep your hands away from your face, especially your mouth. Do not eat finger foods after dog contact until you can wash. Do not let your dog lick you on your face. Try not to have contact with dog saliva, urine or dog feces.

Dogs and puppies can carry a fair variety of bacteria, parasites, fungus and worms. Some of these are fairly common in dogs and others are quite rare. Some people are more likely than others to catch these diseases. Some of the factors associated with catching the diseases depend upon the persons age and status of their health. People who are more likely to get diseases from dogs include infants, children younger than 5 years old, organ transplant patients, people with HIV/AIDS, and people being treated for cancer.

Parasitic diseases that can be carried by dogs:

• Brucella canis Infection (brucellosis): A bacterial disease  associated with dogs, usually this is tested for before breeding.
  
  
• Campylobacter Infection (campylobacteriosis): A bacterial disease associated with dogs, cats, and farm animals. If your dog has diarrhea, you may want to consult with your veterinarian, as this disease may be the culprit and it is passable to humans. If you develop symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and/or nausea, contact your physician. 
  
  
• Cryptosporidium (cryptosporidiosis or coccidia): A parasitic disease associated with dogs, especially puppies, cats, and farm animals. Animals can carry this parasite in their feces.  This disease usually causes a mild to severe infection of the gastrointestinal system, including watery diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting.
  
  
• Dipylidium Infection (tapeworm): A parasitic disease associated with dogs, cats and fleas. Fleas carry the tapeworm and the dog must swallow the flea (which may easily happen during grooming) to allow the tapeworms to hatch and grown in the dog. For a person to become infected with Dipylidium, or tapeworm, he or she must accidentally swallow an infected flea. Most reported cases involve children. The risk of infection with this tapeworm in humans is low.
  
  
• d Infection (giardiasis): A parasitic disease associated with various animals, including dogs and their environment (including water). The Giardia parasite lives in the intestine of infected humans or animals. Millions of germs can be released in a bowel movement from an infected human or animal. Giardia is found in soil, food, water, or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals.
  
  
• Hookworms: Hookworms in dogs, scientifically known as “Ancylostoma caninum" or "Ancylostoma braziliense," are intestinal parasites that literally hook themselves into the lining of your dog's intestines. The larvae can survive for weeks or even months before infecting your dog.
  
  
• Leishmania Infection (leishaniasis): A parasitic disease associated with dogs and sand flies outside the United States.
  
  
• Leptospira Infection (leptospirosis): A bacterial disease associated with wild and domestic animals, including dogs. In people, the symptoms are often like the flu, but sometimes leptospirosis can develop into a more severe, life-threatening illness with infections in the kidney, liver, brain, lung, and heart.
  
  
• Lyme Disease: A bacterial disease that can affect dogs and ticks. People get Lyme disease when they are bitten by ticks carrying B. burgdorferi in certain parts of the country.
  
  
• Q Fever (Coxiella burnettii): A bacterial disease occasionally associated with dogs, but more often associated with sheep, cattle and goats, especially their birth products.
  
  
• Rabies: A viral disease associated with various animals, including dogs. This is fairly rare in the US and is always fatal..
  
  
• Ringworm: A fungal disease associated with dogs. Ringworm is transmitted from direct contact with an infected animal's skin or hair. Dogs and cats, especially kittens or puppies, can have ringworm that can be passed to people.
  
  
• Whipworms:  The whipworm (Trichuris vulpis) parasite is generally transmitted to dogs when they ingest infested matter, although whipworms can be contracted from other infected animals as well. Whipworm eggs can live in an environment anywhere from a few months to years, and can be present in soil.
  
  
• Roundworms: Ascariasis is a disease affecting dogs caused by the intestinal parasitic roundworm (or Ascaris lumbricoides). Roundworms are often quite large -- up to 10 to 12 centimeters in length -- and can be present in extremely high numbers within an infected animal. When they are found in a dog's body, it can lead to abdominal distress.
  
  
• Heartworms: It takes about seven months, once a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito, for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. They then lodge in the heart, lungs, and surrounding blood vessels and begin reproducing.
  
  
• Mange: Sarcoptic mange is a highly contagious skin disease found in dogs, caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. These mites will burrow through the skin causing intense itching and irritation. The scratching that results from mange is what causes the majority of the animal's hair to fall out. Demodicosis mange is an inflammatory disease in dogs caused by various types of the Demodex mite. When the number of mites inhabiting the hair follicles and skin of the dog become exorbitant, it can lead to skin lesions, genetic disorders, problems with the immune system and hair loss (alopecia).
  
  
• Fleas: and cats often get infested with fleas through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the environment. ... The flea's bite can cause itching for the host but for a sensitive or flea-allergic animal, this itching can be quite severe and leads to hair-loss, inflammation and secondary skin infections.
  
  
• Lice: Canine Pediculosis. Lice are parasites that live on the skin of an affected dog. They are actually a small insect that feeds by chewing on the skin of the dog or by sucking the blood, depending on the type of louse. Left unchecked, they can grow to be an infestation on the dog's body. Dog lice are not as common as dog fleas, .
  
  
• Ticks: Ticks are parasitic organisms that attach themselves by mouth to the skin of dogs, cats, and other mammals. These parasites feed on the blood of their hosts and can cause toxicosis or hypersensitivity, and in some cases blood loss anemia.