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==Description==
==Description==
Unlike [[Ancylostoma caninum|''Ancylostoma caninum'']], ''U. stenocephala'' occurs in cool and temperate climates including that of the UK. The details of the life-cycle are given [[Ancylostomatoidea Life-Cycle|elsewhere]] but the infection is mainly acquired by ingestion of L3 larvae and, unlike ''A. caninum'', L3 larvae are not passed to neonates by the trans-mammary route. ''U. stenocephala'' can be recognised on examination under a microscope by its large, dorsally curved, buccal capsule which contains cutting plates at the ventral edge. A single pair of small teeth are also found within the ventral capsule. Adults bury their heads deep in the wall of the small intestine and feed on plugs of mucosa.
[[File:Hookworms.jpg|thumb|Image of ''Ancylostoma caninum''<br><small>Copyright Joel Mills 2006 Wikimedia Commons]]</small>
''Uncinaria stenocephala'' is a hookworm of dogs that belong to the superfamily [["Category:Ancylostomatoidea|Ancylostomatoidea]]. This superfamily contains exotic hookworms that infect man and animals. Unlike the other dog hookworm, [[Ancylostoma caninum|''Ancylostoma caninum'']], ''U. stenocephala'' occurs in cool and temperate climates including that of the UK. The details of the life-cycle are given [[Ancylostomatoidea Life-Cycle|elsewhere]] but the infection is mainly acquired by ingestion of L3 larvae and, unlike ''A. caninum'', L3 larvae are not passed to neonates by the trans-mammary route.
==Identification==
''U. stenocephala'' can be recognised on examination under a microscope by its large, dorsally curved, buccal capsule which contains cutting plates at the ventral edge. A single pair of small teeth are also found within the ventral capsule. Adults bury their heads deep in the wall of the small intestine and feed on plugs of mucosa.
Like almost all hookworm eggs, those of A. caninum are oval in shape and around 50 um in diameter. The shell membrane is thin and transparent and, by the time the egg is passed in the faeces, it contains a segmented ovum at the 4 or 8 cell stage. In a tropical climate, the egg will hatch within 24 hours and only L1 larvae will then be detectable.
==Epidemiology==
==Epidemiology==