This page quotes a published document. Everything below in quotation marks is copied word for word from https://capcvet.org/guidelines/dracunculus-insignis/, published by CAPC and retrieved on 2026-09-16. The quotations are excerpts; the document itself is linked and is the authority. Nothing has been reworded.
This page quotes the Companion Animal Parasite Council guideline for Dracunculus insignis, section by section: the opening sentences of 8 sections, copied without change and linked to the guideline, which was retrieved on 2026-09-16. The guideline itself is the authority and carries the full text.
The guideline
Companion Animal Parasite Council, Dracunculus insignis, at https://capcvet.org/guidelines/dracunculus-insignis/. Retrieved 2026-09-16. Each heading below is the guideline’s own, and the quotation under it is how that section begins. The full section, and the species tabs where the guideline gives them, are on the linked page.
Synopsis
CAPC Recommends Dogs or cats with subcutaneous masses or emerging worms should be evaluated to determine if they are infected with Dracunculus insignis . Dogs and cats should not be allowed to ingest amphibian paratenic hosts or other possible paratenic hosts such as fish.
Species
Canine and Feline Dracunculus insignis is a parasite of numerous wild carnivore species (e.g., raccoons, fisher, mink, muskrat, opossums, fox, coyote, otter) but is occasionally found in dogs and cats. A related species, Dracunculus lutrae , has only been reported in otters.
Disease
Cases in dogs and cats are rarely reported and are generally only detected right before or while the gravid female is emerging or has produced a grossly visible swelling. Adult female D. insignis may produce swelling and inflammation in the subcutaneous tissues and muscle fascia where present.
Prevalence
Diagnosed canine cases of D. insignis are uncommon and only a few feline cases have been reported. Canine cases have been reported throughout the eastern half of the United States and the cat cases were from New York, Alabama, Texas, and North Carolina.
Diagnosis
Surgically extracted female worms from masses can only be identified to the genus level using morphologic criteria. For a definitive diagnosis, worms should be preserved in 70-95% ethanol for molecular identification.
Treatment
Surgical excision of female worms is the recommended treatment. Care should be taken to remove the worms intact.
Control and Prevention
Copepods are found in most natural bodies of water. It is currently unknown how commonly dogs and cats acquire infection from ingesting copepods during the act of drinking or if they acquire infections from ingesting amphibian or other possible paratenic hosts.
Public Health Considerations
D. insignis is not known to infect people; however, experimental exposure of a rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ) resulted in infection with adult gravid female worms.
Continue reading public health considerations on capcvet.org
Sources
- capc-dracunculus-insignisCAPC · retrieved 2026-09-16
“CAPC Recommends Dogs or cats with subcutaneous masses or emerging worms should be evaluated to determine if they are infected with Dracunculus insignis . Dogs” (Synopsis)
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