Nationwide tracking sought for rare disease that is spread by canines, fatal if untreated

As cases creep upward of a rare disease that spreads to humans from wild canines and dogs, medical experts say it's important to get a better understanding of its incidence across the country.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is an infection caused by the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis, which is carried by coyotes, dogs and foxes. The tapeworm common in Europe was first detected in wildlife in Western Canada in 2012; one year later, the first human case of AE was found in a woman in rural Alberta.

Since then, cases have been diagnosed across the country, mostly concentrated in Alberta—30 more people in Alberta alone have received the same diagnosis, including more than a dozen cases since 2020. 

Animals, including infected pet dogs, pass infectious eggs in their stool, which humans can inadvertently ingest. 

Scott Sugden, now a PhD student in natural resource sciences at McGill University, studied coyotes and E. multilocularis as a research assistant at the University of Alberta. He and his co-authors wanted to find out why urban coyotes were more likely to be infected with the parasite than rural ones. 

They found that "especially in younger coyotes, eating rodents makes you more likely to be infected and eating compost or garbage makes you more likely to be infected," said Sugden.

Experts are planning to meet later this month to discuss starting a nationwide registry to develop a better understanding of the disease across Canada.

Routine handwashing, washing wild-picked foods before eating them, keeping pets clean, and preventing them from eating rodents are some of the best prevention strategies. Experts also recommend dog owners talk to their veterinarians about routine deworming and Sugden suggests securing compost and garbage so coyotes can't find it.