Hinkle talks on diseases wolves carry

If you want to strike up a hot topic issue in Mineral County just drop the wolves into any conversation. Most residents weren't happy with the reintroduction when it occurred and now it seems they have even more issues for concern, issues that trace back to the wolf.

Last Friday, April 30, Senator Greg Hinkle spoke at the St. Regis Community Center on two types of tapeworms that wolves are carrying that can ultimately be deadly to humans if acquired. Armed with research, Hinkle expressed that citizens need to be concerned about Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus multilocularis.

E. granulosus is also called the Hydatid worm or Hyper Tape-worm, is a cyclophyllid cestode that parasitizes the small intestine of canines as an adult, but which has important intermediate hosts such as livestock and humans, where it causes hydatid disease. E. multilocularis is a cyclophyllid cestode that, like E. granulosus, produces hydatid disease in many mammals, including rodents and humans.

Wolves or foxes are the definitive hosts for the adult stage of the parasite. The parasite attaches and resides in the mucosa of the intestines by hooks and suckers. It then produces hundreds of microscopic eggs, which are dispersed through the feces of wolves and other predators. Wild rodents such as mice serve as the intermediate host. Eggs ingested by rodents develop in the liver, lungs and other organs to form multilocularis cysts. Rodents are then eaten by wolves and other larger predators.

Hinkle said the disease is transferred relatively easily into homes or yards. He said you can get it simply from drinking water out of stream or picking berries. He said one of the most common ways for it to be transferred is through a pet.

"If you take your dog for a walk out in the woods and there's a pile of scat that he sniffs, well he's ingested it into lungs," Hinkle said. "Or he might roll in it and get it in his fur. You take your dog home, and he's got it in his system and he does his thing in the yard."

From there, you bring the eggs into the house by walking in the yard or children who commonly play in the yard pick them up. If you've gotten eggs on your shoes, you track them into the floors of your house, where again, kids are often play. If he's got the eggs in his fur, all you have to do is pet him to transfer the eggs onto yourself. Hinkle said that another common transfer method is for hunters to obtain the disease by dressing or handling an animal without wearing gloves. He also said that the eggs can be breathed in and most hunters don't wear masks either. He said it's also not a good idea for hunters to be throwing raw meat to dogs.

While there have been no cases of the disease reported in Montana, Hinkle believes it's because the disease has a latent period of around ten to twenty years. He said that he suspects that in five to ten years the area will start seeing cases in humans.

"I'm not here to say we need to get rid of all of the wolves, but they really need to be controlled," Hinkle said. "I'm just trying to educate the people so you know what is out there."

Hinkle said that the high number of wolves only contribute to the likely hood of the problem. Back when they were first reintroduced, the intended populations of the wolves were meant to remain around 300 at the time of reintroduction between the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Surveys at the end of 2009 indicated that there were nearly 1,700 wolves between the three states. Montana's population survey found 524 wolves alone. Currently, the fall hunt has not yet be determined as the case is set to appear before U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy on June 15. Thirteen environment coalitions, represented by an attorney from EarthJustice, believe that a population numbers should be sustained at between 2,000 and 5,000 wolves.

"If we relist the wolf, we're toast," Hinkle said.

Prevention method include thoroughly washing hands, deworming house pets regularly and handling killed animals with gloves. Following the asymptomatic period, common symptoms are headache, nausea, vomiting and abdominal. Often times, complete elimination or treatment of the parasitic mass or cyst cannot be achieved and in most cases, results in death.

Cases have been reported in central Europe, Russia, China, Central Asia, Japan, and North America. In North America e. multilocularis is found primarily in the north central region from eastern Montana to central Ohio, as well as Alaska and Canada. Human cases have been reported in Alaska, the province of Manitoba and Minnesota, but have remained rare.