Note upon the frequent occurrence of Taenia echinococcus in the domestic dog in certain parts of Australia / by John Davies Thomas ; communicated by T.S. Cobbold.

  • Thomas, J. Davies (John Davies), 1844-1893.
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Note upon the frequent occurrence of Taenia echinococcus in the domestic dog in certain parts of Australia / by John Davies Thomas ; communicated by T.S. Cobbold. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    In all four places Tcenia Echinococcus was found in tho stray dogs captured by the police. 1. Adelaide. In the first instance, twenty dogs were examined here. 'lamia Echinococcus was found in nine, and in numbers varying from a few specimens up to many thousands. (Microscopic specimens of some of these accompany this paper.) 2. Mount Gambier.—Five dogs were examined here on December 7, 1882. Two contained numerous examples of Tamia Echinococcus. 3. Millicent.—Out of four dogs examined, one contained this parasite. 4. Penola. The single dog examined at this place had thousands of specimens of Tcenia Echinococcus in its small intestine. Including all the dogs examined in 1882 (thirty in number) no facer than 40 per cent, were infested by this dangerous tapeworm. However it should be stated that nine dogs have been examined by me more recently, and that in only one of these could I find Tcenia Echinococcus. This series of dogs differed from the former one in somo respects. Tho first group of dogs consisted of vagrant and ownerless animals that must have picked up their living largely from slaughter-houses, butchers’ shops, and offal heaps. These naturally would have many opportunities of eating the viscera of slaughtered animals, cast aside as unfit for sale. When tho socond series was procured, a very energetic raid against unregistered dogs had been made by the police for several months, consequently many of the dogs of this group had ownors, by whom they were fed, but who were unwilling to pay the registration fee required by law. In Melbourne.—Ten stray dogs collected in tho town of Hotham (which is really a part of Melbourne) were examined on January 15th , and 16th, 1883. Five of them contained Tcenia Echinococcus in greater or less number. These observations show a very alarming prevalence of this dangerous ]mrasite in tho places where inquiry into the matter has been made, and fully explain tlio frequency of the cystic form (hyatid) both in man and the domestic herbivora of these localities. In connexion with this subject, it may be mentioned that, according to Cobbold, this tapeworm has never been seen in any English dog which had not previously been experimentally infected. Even in Iceland only 28 per cent, of the dogs examined by Krabbe were'found to contain this tapeworm. UAEBISON AND SONS, TEINTEBS IN OEDINABY TO UEB MAJESTY, ST. MABTIN’s LANE.