Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of echinococcosis, a zoonosis (an infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans) that poses a rather serious risk. According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 929 human cases were recorded on the continent in 2023, compared with 739 in 2022, 592 in 2021, and 574 in 2020. The number of cases is also on the rise in Hungary, with 19 patients diagnosed in 2023, 9 in 2022, 7 in 2021, and only 4 in 2020.
Echinococcosis is a disease caused by tapeworms, which is as much a threat to our pets as it is to us humans, says Dr. Kinga Kardics. The worms or their eggs are shed in the feces of infected foxes and golden jackals and remain viable for up to a year.
If the eggs then get into the mouths or noses of dogs sniffing around, or on their legs or fur and are licked off, the eggs will also infect them as they enter their intestinal tract. The animals can further infect us, for example, if they lick our hands and then we eat say an apple without prior handwashing.
Dr. Kinga Kardics points out that echinococcosis is a serious disease: Cysts can form in the liver, spleen, lungs, or even the brain or bones, in humans and animals alike. In humans, however, the infection can be latent for many years because cysts rarely grow to the point where they cause symptoms. The infection is therefore usually discovered by chance, for example during an imaging scan performed for a completely different reason. If symptoms do develop, their severity depends on the size and location of the cysts. (If they are in the liver, for instance, they may cause abdominal pain or jaundice; if in the lungs, they may lead to coughing or bloody sputum, among other things.)
It is important to seek medical help not only for someone with these symptoms, but also for anyone whose dog has been confirmed to have died of echinococcosis.
Cysts caused by echinococcosis are removed surgically if possible, or the patient is treated with medication. However, prevention, i.e. regular deworming of pets and good hygiene in the pet’s owner, is very important, the specialist points out. Dr. Kinga Kardics adds that since tapeworm eggs in animal feces may also be found on low-growing fruits and vegetables, these should always be washed thoroughly, especially if foxes or golden jackals can stray into your garden.
As the infectologist also noted:
The number of zoonotic diseases is constantly on the rise, there are currently over 200 known animal-to-human (or human-to-animal) infectious diseases, but dogs and cats do not carry a zoonotic risk per se.
The danger, like the tapeworms that cause echinococcosis, is the parasites that can infect our pets and, through them, us. So, the pets that are regularly vaccinated, dewormed, and cared for very rarely pose a real threat.
Only a few infectious diseases caused by dogs and cats are diagnosed every month in the center’s Department of Infectology, she says.
Among these, intestinal worms are the most common, but this can also be attributed to inadequately treated meat or poor hygiene, not just to pets that have not been dewormed, Dr. Kinga Kardics points out.
Toxoplasmosis spread by the feces of infected cats is rarely seen in the center. Another infection, bartonellosis, also caused by cats, is more common but still rare. Also known as cat-scratch disease, this zoonosis can, contrary to its name, be transmitted by biting as well. Symptoms include skin signs of inflammation at the site of the injury, and fever, headache, or swelling of the lymph nodes in the area may occur up to weeks after the scratch or bite.
If you have such symptoms, you should definitely consult a doctor, she adds, because although the disease can heal itself in most cases, persistent symptoms may require antibacterial treatment and, rarely, surgical intervention. Since the infection is spread by cat fleas, biting and scratching by regularly flea-free domestic cats is not a risk; it is only neglected, stray cats and kittens with a high risk of infection that pose a threat.
Éva Haiman
Translation: Dr. Balázs Csizmadia
Photo by Boglárka Zellei – Semmelweis University; illustration: iStock
