Sometimes there’s more to the human-animal bond than we want to admit. More interactions with wildlife as our cities expand into their habitat increase opportunities for new challenges, including a wide variety of Echinococcus spp. tapeworms. Dogs act as an intermediate host between wildlife and humans in some species.
Source: Clinician’s Brief, July 2017.
Surveillance in pets, wildlife, and humans is needed to detect and prevent geographic range expansion and global spread of Echinococcus species and strains. Clinicians play a key role in the detection and diagnosis of these parasites. Ideally, surveillance in animals can serve as early warnings of changes in parasite epidemiology and the risks posed to humans.
INSIGHTS: Since so many humans accept common prevention steps for themselves and in their pets, matching the scope of coverage for parasiticides you sell or recommend to the pets’ owners is important. Setting the proper expectations with the client is a natural outcome of such discussions. This is true for any animal health pro working in veterinary hospital, retailers or dealer settings.