Lung worm - really a threat in the UK?

First topic message reminder :

As said in the title, is it really a threat here in the cold wet UK? I have never heard anything about it until recently when this huge add campaign started. i know its bad in the USA but Is it really a threat in the UK or just propaganda from the pharmaceutical companies?

Can anyone say for definate that Milbemax covers against lungworm or not ?

I was going to change Rockys treatment from Drontal to Milbemax and just want to know for certain that the lungworm would be covered.

I hope so Kathy, but Caryll did so it does. And I do use Milbemax too. Get mine from the vet every 3 months. I use Frontline combo too every 6 to 8 weeks.

funny just came back from memphis yearly booster ask this question to vet as advocate gettin verry expencive
she says milbemax does NOT cover for lungworm but covers others including HEART worm total differant parisite
dont know if just a ploy to keep getting money(dont think so as she normally very good )

Just looked on the Milbemax website and taken from this quote:

Milbemax is an oral broad-spectrum anthelmintic tablet for the treatment of mixed infections with roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms, reduction in the level of infection of lungworms and the prevention of heartworm disease in dogs if concomitant treatment against cestodes is indicated.

right a bit more info vets think millbemax should cover for lungworm but at the moment advocate are the only medication thats allowed by law to say covers for lungworm at presant
millbemax dont have the rights to say covers for lungworm instead they need to say by law cuts down infestation of lungworm to near completion ?????????
so basically yes it covers for lungworm just there not alowed to by law state is a lungworm treatment.
by the law makes things difficult lol

Omg I'm panicking now because Saffy has eaten a slug, drinks from a bucket of rain water in the garden and has outdoor toys!!

She been wormed on Panacuur..... Cr*pping myself now!

Thank god I've got the vets tomorrow

There is no wormer that PREVENTS lungworm but treats it once caught. They PREVENT heart worm and TREAT lungworm

http://www.purtonvets.co.uk/purtonblog/2011/04/lungworm.html

There are only certain wormers that will treat lungworm, however they are misleading customers by saying it will prevent your dog ever getting it. Alot of companies are recommending their wormers move to monthly doses thus making more money.

http://blog.holisticvet.co.uk/2012/07/13/are-we-lungworm-aware-or-lungworm-advertising-aware/

kathytake2 wrote:Can anyone say for definate that Milbemax covers against lungworm or not ?

Milbemax covers against your dog getting lungworm, but won't get rid of it once it's there - that's specialist treatment. If you look on the Milbemax box it says that it helps to prevent Angiostrongylus Vasorum (Lungworm).

I had never heard of it before joining this forum. However, most well cared for pets here are dewormed regularly. It is just the norm as there are many other parasites here which are common and really a health risk.

Caryll wrote:

kathytake2 wrote:Can anyone say for definate that Milbemax covers against lungworm or not ?

Milbemax covers against your dog getting lungworm, but won't get rid of it once it's there - that's specialist treatment. If you look on the Milbemax box it says that it helps to prevent Angiostrongylus Vasorum (Lungworm).

We've got both of ours onto Milbemax now in light of recent events

Until I got Dempsey I only wormed my dogs once a year! Then I started reading about the nasty things the toxocara worm can do to children so I decided to worm Dempsey regularly (every 3 months). The first time I asked for wormers, my vet sat me down & talked me through all the variations (I like my vet, he treats me as though I've got a brain!) and explained about lungworm. He said that no wormer can absolutely, definitely prevent lungworm. BUT. There are a couple that can help to prevent it (99%) - Milbemax is one & that's the one he recommended, so that's the one I've used since.

What type of worm is lungworm? (hookworm, whipworm or tapeworm)

*Lynne* wrote:What type of worm is lungworm? (hookworm, whipworm or tapeworm)

The lungworm is Dictyocaulus viviparus, which causes a verminous pneumonia, a secondary bacterial pneumonia and an atypical interstitial pneumonia. The cardinal signs in all of them are chronic cough and respiratory distress.

Not my words obviously but from a dictionary.

i think im going to be getting millbemax soon. lexi is due a worm soon anyway, might as well get them at the same time.

I believe that Panacur is also effective in lungworm prevention, but my vet recommends Milbemax. Advocate is used as treatment, but apparently not as prevention.

Just my understanding of it.

Caryll wrote:I believe that Panacur is also effective in lungworm prevention, but my vet recommends Milbemax. Advocate is used as treatment, but apparently not as prevention.

Just my understanding of it.

hmm ive actually got a tube of panacur in the shed, got it when i took the kittens in. Might be enough in it to do Lexi cause the kittens hardly needed any and the vet said use it next time just to use it up but that they would be fine on tablets if i lost it or whatever. I'll have a look and see if it mentions lungworm.

Again, I think that Panacur is a monthly treatment and Milbemax is ok for a 3 monthly treatment? The vet'll be able to say for sure, though.

Thanks Kathy. What I wanted to know was what it is classified as (nematode or roundworm, trematode or flatworm, and cestode or tapeworm).

It is just that I remember a lot about the worm genus from Varsity. anyhow I did some looking up and discovered that it is classified as a round worm. Also it is prevelant in cool wet climates. In south Africa, it is confined to crtain areas of the Western Cape and is found mainly in cattle.

So I guess my initial panic was unfounded.