Incidence Of Hydatids

[mushka]

I just read the heartworm thread and was reminded of a slew of questions about hydatids that I've been meaning to ask for a while.

Does anyone have any numbers on how common hydatid infections are in sheep, dogs and/or humans in mainland Australia?

Is this something that really only affects farm-dogs and hunters-dogs or is it a general concern for any dog eating offal?

How concerned should I be about hydatids when feeding a raw diet to my dog? Do those of you feeding RAW feel comfortable feeding raw sheep/beef offal from a human-grade source? And what about commercial BARF patties - do they somehow guarantee their food free of cysts?

I have lots of little children hugging and snuggling my dog on a regular basis and I can't count on them to not lick their fingers afterwards.

[Jumabaar]

I just read the heartworm thread and was reminded of a slew of questions about hydatids that I've been meaning to ask for a while.

Does anyone have any numbers on how common hydatid infections are in sheep, dogs and/or humans in mainland Australia?

Is this something that really only affects farm-dogs and hunters-dogs or is it a general concern for any dog eating offal?

How concerned should I be about hydatids when feeding a raw diet to my dog? Do those of you feeding RAW feel comfortable feeding raw sheep/beef offal from a human-grade source? And what about commercial BARF patties - do they somehow guarantee their food free of cysts?

I have lots of little children hugging and snuggling my dog on a regular basis and I can't count on them to not lick their fingers afterwards.

If in doubt worm your dog every six weeks with a wormer that covers hydatids and problem solved. Much more piece of mind than playing the statistics game. Or freeze your meet for a couple of weeks before feeding it to your dog.

[mushka]

If in doubt worm your dog every six weeks with a wormer that covers hydatids and problem solved. Much more piece of mind than playing the statistics game. Or freeze your meet for a couple of weeks before feeding it to your dog.

Thanks for the succinct reply. I feel a bit foolish for needlessly obsessing.

I don't think freezing kills hydatids though.

[karly101]

I don't think there are figures on occurrence as hydatid disease isn't notifiable anymore. I think it was 16 cases a year (in victoria) or something like that previously but they believe the figure is lower now as we are much more aware of it. I think human grade food is okay as they check it for cysts... freezing does not kill all the cysts (unless for over a year or something?).

As mentioned prevention is your best bet.. just use a tapewormer regularly.

[Jumabaar]

If in doubt worm your dog every six weeks with a wormer that covers hydatids and problem solved. Much more piece of mind than playing the statistics game. Or freeze your meet for a couple of weeks before feeding it to your dog.

Thanks for the succinct reply. I feel a bit foolish for needlessly obsessing.

I don't think freezing kills hydatids though.

Freezing will kill Hydatid but it needs to be for a few weeks at a maximum temperature- if you search I have given these details before. But ultimately worming is easier than trying to store meat for three weeks before use.

[Erny]

If in doubt worm your dog every six weeks with a wormer that covers hydatids and problem solved. Much more piece of mind than playing the statistics game. Or freeze your meet for a couple of weeks before feeding it to your dog.

Thanks for the succinct reply. I feel a bit foolish for needlessly obsessing.

I don't think freezing kills hydatids though.

Freezing will kill Hydatid but it needs to be for a few weeks at a maximum temperature- if you search I have given these details before. But ultimately worming is easier than trying to store meat for three weeks before use.

That's what I was given to understand/believe too, Jumabaar, but there does seem to be contradicting reports in that respect. Good question, Mushka, about what concerns those of us who feed raw roo meat to our dogs should have in this respect.

Edited May 27, 2012 by Erny

[Maddy]

Given how horrible the disease is in humans (and potentially fatal), I wouldn't be taking any risks, even if it's not especially common these days.

We worm every six to eight weeks and I check all meat thoroughly as I'm weighing it out for bagging. Muscle meat is fed raw (after being frozen for about one week) but liver and kidney is boiled for at least 20 minutes.

Meat that has come from a human-grade abbatoir is inspected but even then, you aren't guaranteed that it's definitely clear.

I feel a bit foolish for needlessly obsessing.

Talk to someone who has seen hydatids in a human before, you probably won't feel foolish at all. Horrid disease and one that the mainland will likely never be free of.