Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Update on the Status of Hydatidosis/Echinococcosis in Domestic Animals, Wildlife and Humans in Australia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Dog Parasites Endangering Human Health

Part of the book series: Parasitology Research Monographs ((Parasitology Res. Monogr.,volume 13))

Abstract

Echinococcus granulosus is widespread in wildlife over much of Australia, especially in the eastern side of the country in areas associated with the Great Dividing Range. The predominant transmission pattern is sylvatic, with wildlife acting as a major conduit for infection in domestic livestock, especially cattle, but also sheep and domestic dogs and more rarely humans. Hydatid disease in cattle is the cause of important financial loss to the Australian beef industry, losses to the sheep meat industry are low. Conventional meat inspection methods detect less than one-third of bovine hepatic hydatidosis infections. Cases of infection in humans and domestic dogs are becoming less common. Transmission of hydatid disease to humans in the island state of Tasmania has ceased. Occasional cases of hydatid infection in Tasmanian cattle are seen, mostly in animals imported from the Australian mainland.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allen BL, Goullet M, Allen LR et al (2013) Dingoes at the doorstep: preliminary data on the ecology of dingoes in urban areas. Landsc Urban Plan 119:131–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Annon (2000) Communicable diseases intelligence, vol 15. Australian Government Department of Health

    Google Scholar 

  • Anon (2011) Feral horse (Equus caballus) and feral donkey (Equus asinus). Australian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and communities. https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/b32a088c-cd31-4b24-8a7c-70e1880508b5/files/feral-horse.pdf

  • Anon (2017) Camels in Western Australia. Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Biosecurity, Conservation and Attractions, Government of Western Australia. https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/management/pests-diseases/202-camels-in-western-australia?showall=1

  • Banks DJD, Copeman DB, Skerratt LF (2006a) Echinococcus granulosus in northern Queensland. 2. Ecological determinants of infection in beef cattle. Aust Vet J 84:308–311

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Banks DJD, Copeman DB, Skerratt LF et al (2006b) Echinococcus granulosus in northern Queensland. 1. Prevalence in cattle. Aust Vet J 84:303–307

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes TS, Hinds LA, Jenkins DJ et al (2007) Precocious development of hydatid cysts in a macropod host. Int J Parasitol 37:1379–1389

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes TS, Goldizen AW, Morton JM et al (2008) Cystic echinococcosis in a wild population of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata), a threatened macropodid. Parasitology 135:715–723

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes TS, Hinds LA, Jenkins DJ et al (2011) Comparative pathology of pulmonary hydatid cysts in macropods and sheep. J Comp Pathol 144:113–122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beard TC, Bramble AJ, Middleton MJ (2001) Eradication in our lifetime: a log book of the Tasmanian hydatid control campaign, 1962–1969. Department of Primary Industry, Water and Environment, Hobart

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckwoldt R (1988) A very elegant animal, the dingo. Angus and Robertson, North Ryde

    Google Scholar 

  • Brough J (2006) From value to vermin: a history of the donkey in Australia. Aust Zool 33:388–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claridge AW, Mills DJ, Hunt R et al (2009) Satellite tracking of wild dogs in south-eastern Australian forests: implications for management of a problematic top-order carnivore. Forest Ecol Manage 258:814–822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claridge AW, Spencer RJ, Wilton AN et al (2014) When is a dingo not a dingo? Hybridisation with domestic dogs. In: Glen AS, Dickman CR (eds) Carnivores of Australia: past, present and future. CSIRO, Collingwood

    Google Scholar 

  • Coman BJ (1973) The diet of red foxes Vulpes vulpes L., in Victoria. Aust J Zool 21:391–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbett L (1995) The dingo in Australia and Asia. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Cursino MS, Harriott L, Allen BL, Gentle M, Leung LKP (2017) Do female dingo–dog hybrids breed like dingoes or dogs? Aust J Zool 65:112–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis NE, Bennett A, Forsyth DM et al (2016) A systematic review of the impacts and management of introduced deer (family Cervidae) in Australia. Wildl Res 43:515–532. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR16148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durie PH, Riek RF (1952) The role of the dingo and wallaby in the infestation of cattle with hydatids (Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch 1786) Rudolphi, 1805) in Queensland. Aust Vet J 28:249–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gemmell MA (1959a) Hydatid disease in Australia VI. Observations on the carnivore of New South Wales as definitive hosts of Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch 1786), (Rudolphi, 1801), and their role in the spread of hydatidosis in domestic animals. Aust Vet J 35:450–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gemmell MA (1959b) Hydatid disease in Australia VII. An appraisal of the present position and some problems of control. Aust Vet J 35:505–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gemmell MA (1990) Australasian contributions to an understanding of the epidemiology and control of hydatid disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus – past, present and future. Int J Parasitol 20:431–456

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gemmell MA, Lawson JR (1986) Epidemiology and control of hydatid disease. In: Thompson RCA (ed) The biology of Echinococcus and hydatid disease. George Allen and Unwin, London, pp 189–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemmell MA, Lawson JR, Roberts (1986) Population dynamics in echinococcosis and cysticercosis: biological parameters of Echinococcus granulosus in dogs and sheep. Parasitology 92:599–620

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grainger HJ, Jenkins DJ (1996) Transmission of hydatid disease to sheep from wild dogs in Victoria, Australia. Int J Parasitol 26:1263–1270

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harriott L, Gentle M, Traub R, Cobbald R, Magalhães RS et al (2019) Geographical distribution and risk factors for Echinococcus granulosus infection in peri-urban wild dog populations. IJP: PAW 10:112–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegglin D, Ward PI, Deplazes P (2003) Anthelmintic baiting of foxes against urban contamination with Echinococcus multilocularis. Emerg Inf Dis 9:1266–1272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hornsby PE (1982) Predation of the euro (Macropus robustus) (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) by the European fox (Vulpes vulpes) (Placentalia: canidae). Aust Mammal 5:225–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howkins AB (1966) The role of macropididae in Tasmania as intermediate hosts in hydatid disease. Aust Vet J 42:240–241

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins D (2003) Guard animals for livestock protection: existing and potential use in Australia. In: Noad B (ed) NSW Agriculture, Orange

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ (2005) Hydatid control in Australia: where it began, what has been achieved and where to from here. IJP 35:733–740

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ (2006) Echinococcus granulosus in Australia, widespread and doing well! Parasitol Int 55:S203–S206

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Craig NA (1992) The role of foxes Vulpes vulpes in the epidemiology of Echinococcus granulosus in urban environments. Med J Aust 157:754–756

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Macpherson CNL (2003) Transmission ecology of Echinococcus in wildlife in Australia and Africa. Parasitology 127:S63–S72

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Morris B (1991) Unusually heavy infections of Echinococcus granulosus in wild dogs in south-east Australia. Aust Vet J 68:36–37

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Morris B (2003) Echinococcus granulosus in wildlife in and around the Kosciuszko National Park, South-Eastern Australia. Aust Vet J 81:81–85

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Power K (1996) Human hydatidosis in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Med J Aust 164:18–21

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Thomson RCA (1995) Hydatid cysts in an experimentally infected rabbit. Vet Record 137(6):148–149

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Murray AJ, Claridge AW et al (2005a) The contribution of spotted-tailed quolls in the transmission of Echinococcus granulosus in the Byadbo wilderness area of the Kosciuszko National Park, Australia. Wildlf Res 32:37–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Romig T, Thompson RCA (2005b) Emergence/re-emergence of Echinococcus spp – a global update. Int J Parasitol 35:1205–1219

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, McKinlay A, He D (2006) Detection of Echinococcus granulosus coproantigens in faeces from naturally infected rural domestic dogs in south eastern Australia. Aust Vet J 84:12–16

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Allen L, Goullet M (2008) Encroachment of Echinococcus granulosus into urban areas in eastern Queensland, Australia. Aust Vet J 86:294–300

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Lievaart JJ, Boufana B et al (2014) Echinococcus granulosus and other intestinal helminths in rural dogs from eastern Australia, the current situation. Aust Vet J 92:292–298

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Cowled B, Brooks V (2018) The role of feral goats in the transmission of taeniid cestodes in Australia. Vet Parasitol 255:1–9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins DJ, Williams T, Raidal S et al (2019) The first report of hydatid disease (Echinococcus granulosus) in an Australian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). IJP:PAW 8:256–259

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson TH (1909) Notes on some Australian parasites. Agric Gazette NSW 20:581–584

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson PM, Spear R, Beveridge I (1998) Mortality in captive and wild rock-wallabies and nailtailed wallabies due to hydatid disease by Echinococcus granulosus. Aust Mammal 20:419–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King HWH (1959) Sheep movements to snow leases and permissive occupancies, 1945-1955. The AustGeog 7:129–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumaratalake LM, Thompson RCA (1982) Hydatidosis/Echinosis in Australia. Helminthol Abstr – Ser A 51:233–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Lidetu D, Hutchinson GW (2007) The prevalence, organ distribution and fertility of cystic echinococcosis in feral pigs in tropical Queensland, Australia. Onderst J Vet Res 74:73–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackenstedt U, Jenkins D, Romig T (2015) The role of wildlife in the transmission of parasitic zoonoses in peri-urban and urban areas. IJP:PAW 4:71–79

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Meek PD, Wishart J (2017) Camera trap evidence of redfox (Vulpesvulpes) predation attempts on adult macropods. Pac Conserv Biol 23:302–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Hern JA, Coolie L (2013) A description of human hydatid disease in Tasmania in the post eradication era. Med J Aust 199:117–120

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Obendorf DL, Matheson MJ, Thompson RCA (1989) Echinococcus granulosus infection in foxes in South-Eastern New South Wales. Aust Vet J 66:123–124

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reichel MP, Lyford RA, Gasser RB (1994) Hyperendemic focus of echinococcosis in north-eastern Victoria. Med J Aust 160:499–501

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts MW, Dexter N, Meek PD et al (2006) Does baiting influence the relative composition of the diet of foxes? Wildl Res 33:481–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rolls EC (1969) They all ran wild. The animals and plants that plague Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Romig T, Deplazes P, Jenkins D et al (2017) Ecology and life cycle patterns of Echinococcus species. In: Thompson RCA, Deplazes P, Lymbery AJ (eds) Advances in parasitology Echinococcus and Echinococcosis, Part A Pub. Academic, New York, pp 213–314

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ross IC (1926) A survey of the incidence of Echinococcus granulosus or hydatid disease in New South Wales. J Aust Vet Assoc 2:56–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schantz PM, Colli C, Cruz-Reyes A (1976) Sylvatic echinococcosis in Argentina. II. Susceptibility of wild carnivores to Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch 1786) and host-induced morphological variation. Tropmed Parasitol 27:70–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Schantz PM, Chai J, Craig PS et al (1995) Epidemiology and control of hydatid disease. In: Thompson RCA, Lymbery AJ (eds) Echinococcus and hydatid disease. CAB International, pp 233–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Schelling U, Frank W, Will R et al (1997) Chemotherapy with praziquantel has the potential to reduce the prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in wild foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Ann Trop Med Parasitol 91:179–186

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shima AL, Constantinoiu CC, Johnson L et al (2018) Echinococcus granulosus infection in two free-ranging Lumholtz’s tree kangaroo (Denrolagus lumholtzi) from the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland. Trop Med Infect Dis 3:47. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed3020047

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Slais J (1980) Experimental infection of sheep and pigs with Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch 1786) and the origin of pouching in hydatid cysts. Acta Vet Acad Sci Hung 28:375–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Small LM, Pinch DS (2003) Survey for hydatidosis in cattle bred in the northern region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Aust Vet J 81:355–358. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2003.tb11513.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sweet G (1909) The endo parasites of Australian stock and native fauna. Part II, New and unrecorded species. Proc R Soc Vic 12:503–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Thevenet PS, Jensen O, Drut R, Cerrone G et al (2005) Viability and infectioness of eggs of Echinococcus granulosus aged under natural conditions of inferior arid climate. Vet Parasitol 133:71–77

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson RCA (1983) The susceptibility of the red fox to infection with Echinococcus granulosus of Australian sheep origin. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 77:75–82

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson RCA, Jenkins DJ (2014) Echinococcus as a model system: biology and epidemiology. Int J Parasitol 44:865–877

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson RCA, Nicholas WL, Howell MJ et al (1985) Echinococcus granulosus in a fox. Aust Vet J 62:200–201

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson RCA, Lymbery AJ, Hobbs RP et al (1988) Hydatid disease in urban areas of Western Australia: and unusual cycle involving western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus), feral pigs and domestic dogs. Aust Vet J 65:188–190

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson PC (1992) The behavioural ecology if dingoes in North-Western Australia, IV. Social and spatial organisation, and movements. Wildl Res 19:543–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turni C, Smales LR (2001) Parasites of the bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) (Marsupialia: Macropodidae). Wildl Res 28:403–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Siebold CTE (1853) Ueber die Verwandlung der Echinococcus Brut in Taenien. Z Wissenschaft Zool 5:409–424

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson C, Jenkins D, Brookes V, Barnes T (2019a) An eight-year retrospective study of hydatid disease (Echinococcus granulosus sensustricto) in beef cattle slaughtered at an Australian abattoir. Pre Vet Med:173, 104806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104806

  • Wilson C, Brookes V, Jenkins D, Barnes T (2019b) Evaluation of the diagnostic sensitivity of meat inspection for hepatic hydatid disease in beef cattle in an Australian abattoir. Prev Vet Med 167:9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.03.014

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson CS, Brookes VJ, Barnes TS et al (2019c) Revisiting cyst burden and risk factors for hepatic hydatid disease (Echinococcus granulosus sensustricto) in Australian beef cattle. Prev Vet Med 172:104791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104791

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson CS, Jenkins DJ, Brookes VJ, Barnes TS, Budke CM (2020a) Assessment of the direct economic losses associated with hydatid disease (Echinococcus granulosus sensustricto) in beef cattle slaughtered at an Australian abattoir. Prev Vet Med 176:104900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson CS, Brookes V, Jenkins DJ (2020b) Transmission of Echinococcus granulosus in the Northern Territory, Australia: hydatid disease reported in beef cattle from the region. Aust Vet J 98:100. https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12916

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

    David J. Jenkins

Authors
  1. David J. Jenkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David J. Jenkins .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Christina Strube

  2. Department of Parasitology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Jenkins, D.J. (2021). An Update on the Status of Hydatidosis/Echinococcosis in Domestic Animals, Wildlife and Humans in Australia. In: Strube, C., Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Dog Parasites Endangering Human Health. Parasitology Research Monographs, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53230-7_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation