MORE INTEREST IN HYDATIDS

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28346, 3 August 1957, Page 9

MORE INTEREST IN HYDATIDS

First Nail In Its Coffin

In the view of Dri N. C. Begg,

medical director of the Plunket Society, Who is now campaigning for the eradication of hydatids in this country, the increasing interest that the farming community is taking in the parasite is putting the first nail in its coffin.

In North Canterbury districts that interest is now obviously quickening. At a meeting held two weeks ago under the auspices of the Amuri branch of Federated Farrners a committee was set up to prepare plans for a campaign against the disease in that district, and last week at Hawarden a scheme of dog dosing'to begin in September in *the HawardenWaikari district was explained to a public meeting. At this same meeting it was reported that dosing was also to begin in other adjacent districts about the same time.

Dr. Begg, who was present at the Hawarden meeting, reminded those present that valuable as it was dosing dogs with arecoline could not on its own beat hydatids. Arecoline, he said, caused the hydatid worms to let go their hold on the inside of the dog and they were purged out of the animal, but'even where a dog got rid of all its worms in this process if it ate infected offal from a sheep the next day -it would be as bad as ever again in seven weeks’ time. But if from that night a stop was put to the feeding of raw offal to dogs throughout the land there would-be no hydatids in the country in 20 months, he said in answer to a question. Offal Disposal It was at this, stage that the parasite was really vulnerable, he said. In discussing how the offal could be handled' to keep it away from dogs when sheep were killed on the farm he said that it was far from his thoughts to impose on farmers any particular method of several which were equally good, but he said he preferred boiling provided the material was boiled for 30 minutes and in showing an electrically powered boiler, of which he is part designer, he said that its advantage over the kerosene tin was that it had an automatic timer, which temoved the human element and ensured that the boiling was continued for the required time.

Dr. Begg said there was much talk of hydatids as a disease of animals, but it was a human disease and largely a disease of children. He said that his own interest in the disease had been accelerated when about a year ago a girl aged about three years and a half came to his consulting room. She had a cyst in the brain the size of a large orange. Happily by clever surgery it had been possible to remove this cyst intact and the little child was today apparently quite healthy and normal, but, he added, “it is cases like this that make it worth while obliterating this unnecessary disease from the face of this country of ours.’’

Though it was desirable that children should not fondle dogs he said they probably would always go on doing so, so it was well worth the while of the dog owner tq ensure that his d°es were free of hydatids in th® interests of his children. -