Dangerous Wolf Disease Public Not told About!

[Ray091]

I came across a small community newspaper web site that had one whole issue dedicated to the wolves and the controversy surrounding them.

It is from an eastern Oregon community paper.

Two of the articles mentioned a disease or parasite that these particular gray wolves carry that can lay dormant in both extremely hot and cold climates up to 3 years or more and can be lethal to livestock; pets and humans.

As I am not a Doctor or Biologist so if there are any Doctors or Biologist out there that read this forum and can verify or debunk these claims and provide facts; documentation and where I can locate and verify these facts and documentation I would greatly appreciate it.

Here is the title of one of the articles and a brief quote of part of the article:

Title: Idaho’s Fish & Game responsible for creating public safety nightmare

QUOTE
With the Canadian Gray Wolf came disease—not a simple disease but a difficult to diagnose disease that may not show up for 10-20 years, cutting life short, and if caught in time requiring serious and expensive surgery—that is if one doesn't die or become debilitated in the meantime.

Researcher Dovel points out, “...primarily wolves, contaminating the landscape with billions of E. Granulosus eggs in their feces. These invisible eggs are ingested by grazing animals, both wild and domestic, and occasionally by humans who release clouds of the eggs into the air by kicking the scat or picking it up to see what the wolf had been eating. As with many other parasites, the eggs are
very hardy and reportedly exist in extremes of weather for long periods, virtually blanketing patches of habitat where some are swallowed or inhaled.”
UNQUOTE

Also I do not know if this is proper but in order to let any reader verify that what I said was really published in a community newspaper here is the link to the newspaper:

 www.thecitizen8.org

Please note I am not interested in any ranting and ravings by hunters or animal rights people  who by the very nature of their rantings & ravings tells me they are stupid and not interested in any facts.

I am interested in knowing if this is a real threat to all of us, both hunter, animal rights people plus all the other innocent people out there that will travel, even if only for a brief moment, in territory that has been infested by these diseased wolves.

Further if this is true it will affect the lives of my grandchildren who do hike, fish and travel in areas that may be infested with these parasites or bacteria and in that case I want to do something about it.

Thanks and looking forward to any replies.

[rastaman]

Hey Ray...you don't need a doctor or biologist to verify these claims.  Google "E. granulosus in wolves" and start reading.    

[TDHunter]

I was warned many years ago in college by a wildlife instructor about Hydatid in wolves and to make sure if I'm ever skinning one to make sure I'm wearing gloves at a minimum. I almost arrowed one a couple of winters ago and that popped into my head "don't touch with bare hands"

[Al Dente]

Not just for wolves, but ANY wild animal you are about to handle after a kill.  Gloves are a minimum.  Guys laugh at me when I pull out my gloves, they are insemination gloves used for cattle and they run up to my shoulder.  I use a pair of latex underneath, then those over, after, iuse alcohol soaked babywipes to clean up, then hand sanitizer.

Ask a trapper about the nastiness associated with handling, gutting, skinning, and fleshing game.  One little, unprotected nick from last week gets exposed to animal innards and you can have a potentially dangerous situation.

[tuscarawasbowman]

Here is a fact taken directly from "graywolfnews.com".
"The Journal of Wildlife Diseases documents show that 62% to 63% of wolves tested in Idaho and Montana are infected with Echinococcus Granulosus."
They had lots of documentation that this disease is transferrable to humans. They also mentioned hydatid disease. Had lots of other sources to back their info up.

[SveinD]

Dang, I thought you were referring to Lycanthropy  :p
I don't know for sure how it is with that particular bacteria, but it sounds tom me like it's the about the same as that found in both cat feces, berries, foxes, rats, crows and coastal birds and I'll bet most other animals as well, in some form or another.
The chances of getting infected are very small. However, take what precautions you deem necessary to feel safe, as with everything else! Don't let your nature experience be one of paranoia, or you might just as well stay home.

[Adrian Farmer]

I suppose that the article is correct in that wolves are a definitive host for Echincoccus (aka - tapeworm).  But wolves are not the only carriers.  The spread of Echinococcus infection depends on the presence of dogs, foxes, coyotes, wolves as definitive hosts, susceptible intermediate hosts such as sheep, goats and swine, an environment that enables egg survival, and human populations living in close contact with domesticated animals.

However, the article you referred to is highly slanted toward elimination of big, bad wolves, which would have little effect on the abundance of Echinococcus in the environment, given the continued existence of dogs, foxes, coyotes, sheep, goats, swine and humans.

But, on the other hand, perhaps we could also eliminate all the other hosts while we're at it.  I personally vote for getting rid of all dogs (except Labrador retrievers, of course), foxes, coyotes, sheep (especially those on public land), and humans(especially those who hunt where I do).  

I hope that you realize that the above is just a toung-in-cheek comment.  But hopefully you also get the point that this is not just a problem brought about by the few wolves that roam our environment.

Finally, from a wildlife biologist who also hunts with the bow - go Google the parasite and learn about it on the Internet. Be skeptical of any newspaper article, and instead relay on technical publications.

[2treks]

Well said Adrian, Knowledge is key, and we are lucky to have this site so we can all share our basis of expertise. Thanks for sharing.
I remember as a kid I saw on TV(so you know it is true) that if you smelled the dry scat from a wolf you WOULD get a worm in your brain that could never be removed. I dismissed this, as I never intended to smell dry wolf scat. Still don't.  
 

Thanks, Adrian, for the solid information.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Ray091.   3S brother.  

[Killdeer]

Thank you, Svein, for making me learn a new word.
Unfortunately, it came coupled with another foray into Greek mythology, an occupation fraught with restless nights of squeamish dreams.

I blame human behavior on the role models set by ancient gods. We couldn't possibly think all this stuff up on our own.

Killdeer~ remember... only smell the WET scat!