Natural infections of <i>Crenosoma vulpis</i> and <i>Angiostrongylus vasorum</i> in dogs in Atlantic Canada and their treatment with milbemycin oxime

Abstract

Milbemycin oxime was used to treat dogs with natural infections of the fox lungworm, Crenosoma vulpis and the French heartworm, Angiostrongylus vasorum. Crenosomosis was identified in 42 of 202 dogs with clinical signs of coughing, dyspnoea or exercise intolerance by a Baermann analysis of faecal samples taken between October 2000 and October 2001. It occurred throughout Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island). The clinical signs resolved and shedding of larvae in faeces ceased in all 32 Crenosoma-infected dogs given a single oral dose of 0.5 mg/kg milbemycin oxime for which the results of faecal examinations were available. Angiostrongylosis was identified in 16 of the 202 dogs and was restricted to the Avalon peninsula of Newfoundland, where 67 dogs were tested. The clinical signs resolved and shedding of larvae ceased in 14 of the 16 dogs treated with four, weekly oral doses of 0.5 mg/kg milbemycin oxime. One dog with severe clinical signs died during the course of treatment and one owner failed to provide a faecal sample from their dog but reported that the clinical signs had resolved.