AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC SURVEY OF ECHINOCOCCUS-GRANULOSUS AND OTHER HELMINTHS IN ANIMAL POPULATIONS IN NORTHERN ISRAEL

In a survey carried out during the period May 1995 to November 1996, i n communities of various ethnic groups in northern Israel, 206 dogs we re examined for Echinococcus granulosus and other intestinal helminth parasites by arecoline hydrobromide purges and the coproantigen-ELISA. The arecoline test was performed close to the owners' homes, using pl astic sheets secured to the ground. From 56 dogs examined in the Musli m town of Tamra, six (10.7%) were found to be infected with E. granulo sus. Four of them also had a mixed infection of Taenia hydatigena and Dipylidium caninum (two dogs), and the remaining two dogs were infecte d with either D. caninum or Taenia pisiformis. An additional 18 dogs w ere infected with either T. pisiformis (eight dogs), D. caninum (seven dogs), or T. hydatigena (three dogs). Two of these dogs harboured mix ed infections whereas the remaining 32 dogs were free of helminths. In the Jewish villages, none of the 150 dogs examined were infected with E. granulosus, although 26 (17.3%) were infected with D. caninum, fou r (2.7%) with Ancylostoma spp. and one (0.7%) with Toxocara canis. Onl y one of the 22 stray dogs and none of the 15 jackals examined were in fected with E. granulosus. However, 21 (95.4%) of the dogs and 12 (80% ) of the jackals harboured helminth infections, including: D. caninum (16 dogs and seven jackals), Ancylostoma spp. (five jackals), T. hydat igena (three dogs), and T. canis (one dog). Approximately 18% of the d ogs and 33% of the jackals showed mixed infections with two or more of the above helminths. In the abattoirs, 52 (5.9%) of the 874 sheep and 33 (5.3%) of the 616 goats from 17 herds slaughtered in the Muslim an d Druze villages were found to be infected with E. granulosus, compare d with a 0% infection rate observed in 93 sheep from two herds in Jewi sh villages.