Washington Study Finds 37% of Coyotes Carry Tapeworm
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- University of Washington researchers tested 100 coyotes around Puget Sound and found 37% infected with Echinococcus multilocularis.
- Echinococcus multilocularis can cause alveolar echinococcosis, producing cancer‑like metastatic cysts in the liver and other organs of humans and animals, often fatal without treatment.
- Coyotes serve as primary hosts, carrying adult tapeworms without illness and shedding eggs in feces that infect rodents, which then transmit the parasite back to coyotes.
- Humans can become accidental hosts by ingesting eggs from contaminated food or feces, leading to alveolar echinococcosis with a 5‑15‑year latency; domestic dogs face similar risk.
- Guilherme Verocai of Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences advises owners to prevent dogs from hunting rodents and to use routine parasite testing and preventive medication.
- National Science Foundation funded the study, underscoring the need for expanded wildlife surveillance.
- World Health Organization lists alveolar echinococcosis among the top 20 neglected tropical diseases and the third most important food‑borne illness worldwide.
Why it matters: The high prevalence in coyotes indicates a new public‑health threat for residents and pet owners in the Pacific Northwest, prompting veterinarians and health officials to intensify surveillance, testing, and preventive treatments, while wildlife agencies need to expand monitoring programs to curb further spread.
