Many Dogs Free Of Hydatids

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31784, 14 September 1968, Page 14

Many Dogs Free Of Hydatids

In most areas of New Zealand, many dog-owners have succeeded in keeping all their dogs free from hydatids for the last two years, and often for four to five years, according to the annual report of the National Hydatids Council. Only a small proportion—between 5 and 10 per cent or even less—had dogs that were frequently infected, indicating a complete lack of effort in maintaining precautions against infection. Between these two groups was a category of dog-owners who had an occasional infected dog.

It was obvious that the efforts of all associated with the campaign should be directed towards dog-owners with frequent infection in their dogs, to eliminate these infections as soon as possible, and to induce dog-owners to introduce and maintain satisfactory measures to prevent re-infection.

The council has adopted changes in its dog-dosing procedures. If these are fully implemented, it believes they will achieve the above objectives.

It is now proposed that dogowners whose dogs have all shown no infection with true or false hydatids for at least two years should now have their dogs dosed and tested only once a year. Those whose dogs have shown infection on two or more successive tests in the preceding two years should have their dogs dosed and tested at three-month intervals.

The report says that apart from one year when there was an increase considered to come from improvement in dosing techniques, the level of true hydatids in dogs—as revealed by dosing and testing—has shown a small but Steady decrease annually. But the incidence of false hydatids has not decreased significantly since 1963-64. On the other hand, there has been a remarkably-steady annual increase in the Taenia ovis or sheep measles. In the South Island, the council says, levels of infection are higher for all tapeworms than in the North Island, and the rate of increase of Taenia ovis- is greater. Hospital Cases During the last five years for which figures are available, the number of new cases of hydatids admitted to public hospitals averaged 60 a year. This is a reduction on the

previous five years, when an average of 69 new cases were admitted each year. “There is evidence that hydatids is becoming less common in children under 10 and in young persons between 10 and 19,” the council says. The number of deaths from hydatids has also fallen in recent years. The average number per year in 1961-65 was 5.6, compared with 13.2 per year for 1951-55.