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Public Health Follow‐up of Suspected Exposure to Echinococcus multilocularis in Southwestern Ontario
Author(s) -
TrotzWilliams L. A.,
Mercer N. J.,
Walters J. M.,
Wallace D.,
Gottstein B.,
OstermanLind E.,
Boggild A. K.,
Peregrine A. S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
zoonoses and public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.87
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1863-2378
pISSN - 1863-1959
DOI - 10.1111/zph.12326
Subject(s) - echinococcus multilocularis , alveolar echinococcosis , public health , environmental health , echinococcosis , echinococcus , veterinary medicine , geography , medicine , pathology
Summary In the 3 years since the first report of canine alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in Ontario, three additional cases have been diagnosed in the province. Of the four cases reported to date, three have had no known history of travel outside the province. It is possible that this development is an indication of previously unrecognized environmental contamination with Echinococcus multilocularis eggs in some areas of the province. If so, there is the potential for an emerging threat to human health. This article describes a local public health department's investigation of the possible exposure to E. multilocularis of a number of individuals who had had contact with the latest of the four cases of canine AE, and summarizes a comprehensive decision process that can be used by public health departments to assist in the follow‐up of such exposures.