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A parasite that may probably kill canine has been found for the first time in the Colorado River in Southern California, a research from University of California, Riverside mentioned.
The parasite known as Heterobilharzia americana, which is a flatworm extra generally often known as a liver fluke.
It had beforehand primarily been found in Texas and different Gulf states, has now unfold west.
“Dogs can die from this infection, so we are hoping to raise public awareness that it’s there,” UC Riverside nematology professor Adler Dillman instructed the UC Riverside News. “If you’re swimming in the Colorado River with them, your pets are in peril.”
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A parasite that may probably kill canine has been found for the first time in the Colorado River in Southern California, a research from University of California, Riverside mentioned. (Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Researchers with the college headed to Blythe, California, on the border with Arizona, and picked up and examined 2,000 snails on the banks of the Colorado River there after discovering out a number of canine contaminated by the parasite had all swum there.
The research mentioned their findings counsel “a wider distribution [of the parasite] than previously reported. Our findings have implications for public health, veterinary medicine, and biodiversity conservation, contributing to developing effective control strategies to prevent the spread of this emerging infectious disease.”
“In our study, we successfully confirmed the presence of Heterobilharzia americana for the first time along the shores of the Colorado River, infecting two species of snails, Galba humilis and Galba cubensis,” the research authors mentioned. “This significant finding marks the westernmost record of this endemic North American schistosome in the U.S. The identification of the parasite in an area with a documented history of canine schistosomiasis emphasizes the persistence and potential expansion of this parasitic threat.”
Heterobilharzia americana is endemic to the Gulf Coast and South Atlantic area of North America, however has additionally been found in states resembling Indiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and most not too long ago, Utah.
Along with canine, it could actually infect mammals resembling raccoons, marsh rabbits, horses, nutria, bobcats, mountain lions and opossums, the research mentioned.
Eleven canine in three counties have been confirmed to have the illness and one has died, the UC Riverside News mentioned. (iStock)
Once contained in the pores and skin, the parasite migrates into the lungs the place it could actually trigger hemorrhaging.
“It gets into the veins of the intestinal lining, and that’s where it develops into an adult and mates,” Dillman instructed the UC Riverside News. “The presence of the adults in the veins isn’t the problem. It’s the eggs that get into the lungs, spleen, liver, and heart. The immune system tries to deal with it, and hard clusters of immune cells called granulomas form. Eventually, the organ tissues stop functioning.”
Eleven canine in three counties have been confirmed to have the illness, and one has died, the UC Riverside News mentioned, including that signs, together with “loss of appetite, and eventually include vomiting, diarrhea, profound weight loss, and signs of liver disease,” can take months to point out up.
“Treatment typically involves use of multiple medications and close monitoring of the dog by a veterinarian,” Emily Beeler, a veterinarian with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, instructed the newspaper.
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The parasite could cause swimmer’s itch in people, however not an an infection.
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