Puslinch Today

via uoguelph.ca



A tapeworm that can infect dogs and humans and lead to potentially fatal illness is now widespread in southern Ontario, new work by Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) researchers at the University of Guelph has revealed.

The researchers found the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm in nearly one in four coyotes and foxes they tested in southern Ontario, suggesting the potentially dangerous parasite is now well established in the region.

E. multilocularisis spread by coyotes and foxes that eat infected rodents, such as field mice. The wild animals don’t become sick, but dogs that consume coyote or fox stools that contain parasite eggs can develop a severe infection called alveolar echinococcosis, or AE…

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