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RE: Starting the year off right - with a ball of dung

in #nature7 years ago

Hello :-)
Fun fact: (although it's not actually a "fun" fact)
Ingestion of a dung beetle by a dog can also lead to spirocerca lupi in a dog. It is a fairly recent illness in dogs and fatal if not treated. For example, a worm produces eggs which are excreted with faeces. A dung beetle would ingest worm eggs while rolling the infected faeces.
A dog may then eat the intermediate hosts (beetle / bird / lizard / mouse etc) thereby ingesting the larvae. The larvae move from stomach to aorta and oesophagus. Sadly most people only pick up clinical signs when it's too late (coughing, vomiting, struggling to breathe). So what every dog owner should do is treat their dogs with Advocate or Milbemax monthly in order to prevent the disease. If the dog already has it the vet will put the dog ondaily / weekly treatment for 6-8 weeks. It's a big problem in SA at the moment but most people still don't know about it. If left untreated the dog will succumb to spirocerca lupi.

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Wow, that's horrible, but important to share! Maybe even worth a standalone post so your followers living in dung beetle territory will learn about this not-at-all fun fact. Thanks for sharing! 😊🐾