Hydatid Disease

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 232, 2 October 1935, Page 12

Hydatid Disease

The Start and Spread of Hydatid Disease.

Hydatid disease starts with tiny tapeworms getting into the gut ot dogs, usually country dogs that cat raw offal. There are many kinds of tape worms, some of them yards in length and actually resembling tape, but the Hydati.; tapeworm is only about a quarter of an inch long. It makes up for its sma.l size by occurring in large numbers. The microscopic eggs of these worms are passed in countless numbers in tho dogs' dropping’s. These dangerous droppings arc trampled and scattered as dust, and contaminate tho nearby grass and other vegetation and vvatci supplies. Stock animals and sometimes human beings can thus become infected as they eat and drink. Flics also may spread infection from dogs’ droppings to foodstuffs. The egg-laden dust also gets on to the hairy coat, muzzle and paws of dogs, and on to the woolly ffeecc of sheep. Human beings who come into close contact with these animals get,their hands contaminated with hydatid and transfer of infection from hands to mouth can easily occur. This is now regarded as the most likely path of human infection, especially in the case

of children. Hydatid Cysts. It is a peculiarity of all tapeworms that they pass tho worm stage ot life in one animal, and a cyst or water-bladder stage in another quite diltcicut animal. Hydatid eggs passed iu tho droppings of dogs, and swallowed by other animals, such as sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, or by human beings undergo v. tranformation into hydatid cysts or water-bladders. The eggs hatch out in the stomach or intestine into microscopic parasites, which penetrate deeply and settle anywhere in the body, but most commonly in the liver or,lungs, where they grow in the course of months or years, not into worms, but into cysts or water-bladders. These cysts, at first very small, may reach the size of golf bails, cricket balls, or even footballs. Economic Loss to the Farmer. .Sheep and cattle are very commonly affected with cysts iu liver and lungs (more often than not in some districts), and their money value is thereby lessened. The constitution of the animals and the quality of both meat and, wool must be depreciated more or .less, and quality in New Zealand products is of paramount importance. Moreover, the economic waste involved iu the condemnation of millions of sheep. livers every year as being unfit for food on account of the cysts they contain must be very considerable. (As a matter of fact such livers, though rcpellant arc not actually dangerous to human beings, or to any other animal except the dog, and then only if eater; raw.) Illness and Loss of Life in Human Beings.

Similar hydatid cysts iu human beings cause serious and sometimes fatal illness. More than I,OOU men, women and children have been treated for hydatid disease in this Dominion during the last 10 years, and there have been 120 deaths. Apart from a fatal termination it must be borne in mind that Hydatid Disease commonly leads to months or years of disability in people who should be at the most useful stage of life. .In the majority of cases surgical operation is the only hope of cure. THE VICIOUS CIRCLE. Cysts of Sheep and Other Animals Change Again to Hydatid Tapeworms in the Dog. Inside a Hydatid cyst there arc a multitude of microscopic particles each furnished with hookiets and suckers. These arc the immature heads which grow into adult tapcw.orius if they reach the intestine of a dog. If, thcrcfoie, raw cysts arc swallowed by dogs, as often happens when sheep's plucks are thrown to them for food,’ they agaiu give rise to hydatid tapeworms in the dogs’ intestines and again multitudes of hydatid eggs arc passed-with the dogs’ droppings. Thus a vicious circle is produced and Hydatid Disease perpetuated. Note that the Hvdatid tapeworm occurs only in the dug (or dog-like animals such as the wolf, jackal and fox), but Hydatid cysts may occur in many other animals, including sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, and human beings. The cysts that are commonly seen in the muscles of rabbits, are of a different species, and eats arc not liable to Hydatid Disease. To Avoid Hydatid Disease.

Precautions — (a) Administer regularly every two or three months the specially prepared worm-destroying tablets to country dogs. This can bo done quite easily according to the following simple and effective method: lie the dog to a convenient post or tree on .Saturday afternoon. Do not feed him. On Sunday give him a dose of Arecolin Hydrobromide—For grown sheep ami cattle dogs, i grain; for dogs of terrier size, i grain; for smaller breeds and pups, J grain. The dose may be given in a small piece of meat or butte.. Bulging begins in about half an hour./ After two hours the dog is let loose and fed. The droppings must be made harmless by lire or burial. Further instructions will .be given on request by health officers, stock inspectors, or veterinary surgeons. (b) Never let dogs feed on raw offal, and, if it is needed for dogs, tucker, boil it for ten minutes or so; if Would even suffice to throw the oii'al into a can of water and bring to the boil. This simple action requiring very little trouble, kills all parasites and renders the food fit for use. Experimental work on alternative methods of killing the parasites by the use of antiseptics such as Formalin is now in progress at the Hydatid Research Department of the .Otago Medical .School. (e) In patting or fondling dogs, handling sheep and so on, remember ilie risk of contaminated hands, and the possibility, especially in children, of the Hydatid eggs being transferred from, hands to mouth. Make a practice of washing the hands before meals. (d) Foodstuffs should be protected against direct pollution by dogs and indirect contamination by flies. Salads and other vegetables that are eaten raw should be carefully washed. (e) Hydatid eggs that reach water soon sink and infection from this source is not very likely, but to be on the safe side -water for drinking purposes should be boiled or filtered. Issued by the Department of Hydatid Research, Medical School; Dunedin, New Zealand,