Whipworms are parasites

Some interesting Trichuris vulpis facts:

• Whipworm infections are seen in dogs, foxes and coyotes
• A female whipworm can produce more than 2000 eggs a day and whipworm eggs, which are thick walled and highly resistant to heat and drying, can live in the environment for years
• A dog with a whipworm infestation may show clinical signs before eggs are shed in feces; eggs can be shed sporadically

What Exactly Is a Whipworm?

Whipworms are parasites. The whipworm gets its name from its shape. Adult whipworms have a whip-like form -- the front end is narrower than the back end.
Full grown whipworms are no more than three inches in length. Males are quite a bit smaller than females.
The whipworm lives in the large intestine of dogs and can cause serious irritation to the lining of the colon. Adult worms dig their heads (at the thin end) deep into the intestinal mucosa and feed on material secreted by the tissues. There is often blood leakage as a result of whipworm tunneling and feeding activity.
Unlike other internal parasites, whipworms are very host-specific, meaning they rarely occur in species other than canines. They present no risk to humans. Feline whipworm infections are rare in North American domestic cats, and appear to be caused by a different species than Trichuris vulpis.
Whipworms occur in dogs worldwide, and are fairly common in shelter dogs in the U.S.

Heart Health

PATIENTS with a history of heart disease who stop taking prescribed aspirin are nearly two-thirds more likely to have a heart attack.
A study published online by the British Medical Journal found people who stopped taking low-dose aspirin to help prevent blood clots forming were at a 60% greater risk of a non-fatal heart attack.
Up to half of long-term users are believed to stop taking aspirin which they have been prescribed.
A team of researchers from Spain and Sweden examined data on 39,513 patients from The Health Improvement Network, a database of UK health records that includes data from Scotland.
The patients were aged between 50 and 84 and had been prescribed aspirin between 2000 and 2007. They were followed up for around three years.
The researchers found that, in the space of a year, for every 1000 patients there were four more non-fatal heart attacks among those who had recently stopped taking low-dose aspirin than those who had continued.
The team's results led to a call for more research into whether encouraging patients to keep taking low-dose aspirin would lead to a decrease in heart attacks.
Official figures show 19,641 people in Scotland have coronary heart disease, and 11,449 people suffered heart attacks in 2009/10