Pulled right from the CDC

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I pulled this info right off the CDC site. Puppys can give you worms.

How can I get toxocariasis? (ROUND WORM)

You or your children can become infected after accidentally

ingesting (swallowing) infective Toxocara eggs from larvae in soil

or other contaminated surfaces.

What should I do if I think I have toxocariasis?

See your health care provider to discuss the possibility of

infection and, if necessary, to be examined. A blood test is

available for diagnosis.

What is the treatment for toxocariasis?

VLM is treated with antiparasitic drugs, usually in combination with

anti-inflammatory medications. Treatment of OLM is more difficult

and usually consists of measures to prevent progressive damage to

the eye.

Who is at risk for toxocariasis?

Young children; owners of dogs and cats.

ROUND WORM

Humans are accidental hosts who become infected by ingesting

infective eggs in contaminated soil. After ingestion, the eggs

hatch and larvae penetrate the intestinal wall and are carried by

the circulation to a wide variety of tissues (liver, heart, lungs,

brain, muscle, eyes). While the larvae do not undergo any further

development in these sites, they can cause severe local reactions

that are the basis of toxocariasis. The two main clinical

presentations of toxocariasis are visceral larva migrans (VLM) and

ocular larva migrans (OLM)*. "

Zoonotic Transmission and Human Disease

The growing popularity of dogs and cats in the United States,

together with high rates of ascarid and HOOK WORM infections, has

resulted in widespread contamination of the soil with infective eggs

and larvae.

Epidemiologic studies have implicated the presence of dogs,

particularly puppies, in a household, and pica (dirt eating) as the

principal risk factors for human disease. Children's play habits

and their attraction to pets put them at higher risk for infection

than adults.

Humans become infected with ascarids (Toxocara spp., Baylisascaris

spp.) through ingestion of infective eggs in the environment. When

a human ingests infective eggs, the eggs hatch and release larvae

that can migrate anywhere in the body, a condition known as visceral

larva migrans. The signs and symptoms seen in humans are determined

by the tissues or organs damaged during larval migration. Organs

commonly affected are the eye, brain, liver, and lung, where

infections can cause permanent visual, neurologic, or other tissue

damage. The common dog ascarid, T. canis, has long been recognized

as a cause of larva migrans syndromes in children. The cat ascarid,

T. cati, can also cause disease in humans, although for reasons

partly related to the defecation habits of cats, it does so less

frequently. The raccoon ascarid, B. procyonis, is increasingly

being recognized as a cause of human disease.10

Humans can become infected with hookworms through ingestion of

infective larvae or through direct penetration of the skin.7 When

infective larvae penetrate the skin, they undergo a prolonged

migration that causes a condition known as cutaneous larva migrans.

These larval migrations are characterized by the appearance of

progressive, intensely pruritic, linear eruptive lesions, which are

usually more extensive with A. braziliense infections. A. caninum

larvae may also penetrate into deeper tissues and induce symptoms of

visceral larva migrans, or migrate to the intestine and induce an

eosinophilic enteritis.11,12

Cricket