threadworms?

Question

I have been reading some old posts and there are mentions of getting threadworms from cats and also having to treat your cat if you get them. My pharmacist told me you can't catch them from cats. Does anyone know what is correct?

Answer 1

Most parasitic diseases are species specific. There are different threadworms that infest humans, cats, dogs, deer, horses, etc. There are exceptions. For instance, a dog tapeworm can infect a human, but it cannot complete its life cycle in a foreign host.

Strictly speaking, threadworms are members of the genus Strongyloides. Pinworms are often referred to as threadworms, but pinworms are of the genus Enterobius.