Je! Mtihani Wa Kinyesi Cha Mnyama Wako Ni Nini, Hata Hivyo?

2024 Mwandishi: Daisy Haig | [email protected]. Mwisho uliobadilishwa: 2023-12-17 03:14

Kwa hivyo ni nini mtihani wa kakao wa aibu, hata hivyo?

Inasumbua kutosha kuwa nyuma ya mnyama wako kukiukwa na fimbo ya plastiki, sivyo? Kwa hivyo ni nini maana?

Unasema: Ikiwa lengo ni kumfanya mnyama wangu kuwa na afya bora na bila vimelea basi nitaamini uamuzi wako, lakini lazima niseme, ukaguzi wa kinyesi ni aina ya adhabu ya kikatili na isiyo ya kawaida. Sipati udhalili wa aina hiyo mpaka nitakapokuwa wa kiume na arobaini, sawa? Na kinyesi sio msaada, sivyo?

Ninasema: Kwa kuanzia, hauitaji mnyama wako ashindwe na fimbo ya dastardly. Sampuli mpya kawaida hupatikana kwa urahisi asubuhi (au alasiri) kabla ya ziara yako ya kila mwaka au wakati wowote mnyama wako anapata dalili za utumbo. Sio ngumu sana, kweli. Na ikiwa wakati sio sawa kabisa (kinyesi haipaswi kuwa zaidi ya saa moja kwa matokeo bora), hospitali yako ya vet hakika haitakukana haki ya kuleta sampuli mpya safi kwa urahisi wako. Ahadi.

Na ndio, mitihani ya kinyesi, ingawa ni ya bei rahisi na ya kawaida, ni muhimu. Lakini kama chapisho hili litaonyesha, ni kweli pia kwamba sio vipimo vyote vya kinyesi vitachukua maambukizo ya vimelea katika wanyama wako wa kipenzi. Ndiyo sababu mitihani ya kinyesi ya kila mwaka na / au mfululizo inaweza kuhitajika.

Sasa kwa lengo la msingi la mtihani:

Daktari wa mifugo daima wanatafuta vimelea ambavyo vinaweza kupata njia ya utumbo wa wanyama wako wa kipenzi. Kwa kweli, sisi wanadamu tunaweza kupata vimelea pia, lakini mitindo yetu ya kisasa huwa haifai sana kuambukiza vimelea. (Mara ya mwisho ulipiga kelele uani, midomo chini, ili uweze kuvuta turd feline au mbili?)

Ndio, wanyama wa kipenzi hupata vimelea vingi. Hapa kuna mfano wa vimelea vya kawaida vya utumbo ninavyoona hapa [mbinguni ya vimelea ambayo ni nusu-kitropiki Kusini mwa Florida]:

Minyoo ya duru katika mbwa na paka.

Hookworms katika wanyama wa kipenzi

Whipworms katika wanyama wa kipenzi

Giardia katika wanyama wa kipenzi

Matumbo ya ini katika wanyama wa kipenzi

Matumbo ya ini katika wanyama wa kipenzi

coccidia in pets

i’ll not go into the gory details on each but you can click on the links and check out the info for a better understanding of how these parasites can potentially affect your pets and even your human family.

sure, pet-popular parasites don’t often infect humans in the so-called, “developed” nations all of you reading this likely live in, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. roundworms and hookworms are still a factor in humans in the us, as is giardia, which will give you the nastiest case of diarrhea you can imagine short of amoebic dysentery.

since veterinarians are also on the front lines when it comes to public health, consider that fecal exams are not just necessary for healthy pets, they’re essential for healthy humans, too, more so if your family members are very young children, very old adults or otherwise immunocompromised (transplant patients, hiv-positive humans, chemo recipients, etc.).

how do we identify these critters in the fecal exam?

the short answer: with a microscope.

the long answer: we take a tiny sample of your pet’s stool (very fresh is always best). a few grams is enough (think an eighth of a teaspoon if that’s easier). then we put it through one of three processes.

1. the smear: we take about a half gram of stool and smear it onto a microscope slide to search for parasites (and bacteria) directly. many times we’ll see them swimming about. finding evidence of parasites in a simple smear is often indicative of severe infection.

2. the float: this method relies on mixing the stool with a special solution. it filters out the big pieces of stool in a tube or other cylindrical vessel and allows the eggs and other small critters to float up to the top, buoyed by the solution’s specific gravity. a microscope slide’s cover slip is typically used to recover the floaters. some parasites, however, aren’t amenable to flotation. eggs seem to do best through this method.

3. centrifugation: spinning the heck out of stool in a centrifuge when it’s mixed in a sugar solution picks up about 50% more parasite eggs and oocysts than through flotation. therefore, i like this method best for worm eggs, giardia, and coccidia––though i’d never go without a smear. problem is, most hospitals don’t yet use this method. it’s more expensive than others and research demonstrating it’s much greater efficacy is fairly recent.

so now you know the truth: not all fecal exams are created equal. not only does this test rely on careful selection of materials and methods, it also requires a trained eye. in our practice, for example, one of our techs detects parasites about 50% more often than the veterinarians and other techs/assistants. (that’s why we also do floats so that she can check them all at her convenience when she comes back from her day off.)

it’s also true that even a parasite-infected animal will often not come up positive on a fecal test. human error and equipment choice are factors, but so is the parasite itself. sometimes they do not make themselves known in the stool. worms sometimes aren’t shedding their eggs and subclinical (low-grade or smoldering) infections may not reveal much, either.

again, that’s why it’s important to perform this test as often as is reasonable. for all dogs and cats at least three times during the first few months of life. i want to see at least two negative tests in a row, a month apart, before i’ll feel comfortable that my patient is parasite-free.

for adults, once a year is great––that is, unless they show gastrointestinal illnesses. in this case, serial fecal tests make sense––or at least one every time the symptoms recur until a definitive diagnosis is made (whether it’s parasites or something else).

ultimately, fecal tests are a critical component of our veterinary hat of tricks. doing without may seem like the economically wisest thing in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, but consider: parasites can wear pets down in ways you might not expect. and it’s never wrong to be too safe in the presence of diseases that may also affect your family. ‘nuff said.