![[BREAKING] Deadly ‘fox tapeworm’ linked to lethal disease detected in West Coast wildlife](https://nypost.com/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F06%2F131051833.jpg?w%3D1024)
A parasitic tapeworm known as Echinococcus multilocularis, often called the “fox tapeworm,” has been detected for the first time in wildlife on the West Coast.
Researchers at the University of Washington discovered tapeworm, which can cause a rare but potentially fatal disease in humans, in 37 of every 100 coyotes sampled near Puget Sound in Washington state.
The findings were published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases earlier this year.
The researchers noted that the presence of the parasite in wildlife does not mean that human infections are common and that the risk to the general public remains low.
"The reason [cases are] so high in coyotes is because they regularly eat raw rodents, and that's the main way they become infected," lead author Yasmine Hentati, who recently graduated from the University of Washington with a doctorate in environmental and forestry sciences, said in a news release.
Genetic testing in the study showed that the coyotes carried a newer, more infectious European variant that has become the predominant strain in the United States and Canada.
Before the 2010s, parasitic tapeworm was extremely rare in North America, and cases were largely limited to the remote islands of Alaska, the authors said.
Over the past 15 years, the parasite has expanded its range and infections in dogs and humans have increased throughout the Midwest US and Canada, according to previous reports.
Cases in coyotes have been spreading westward from the upper Midwest for several years, and infected animals have been found on the West Coast, according to Dr.
Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann in the Houston area.
While Eastern Europe has some cases, the infection is very rare in the United States, Yancey said.
Most cases of echinococcosis are diagnosed in patients who emigrated or traveled to Central and Eastern Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
"Globally, the area with the highest prevalence of human fox tapeworm infections is western China," Yancey added.
The tapeworm is transmitted among wild animals known as canids, which typically pass from foxes to rodents and back to foxes, and is often known as the “fox tapeworm,” Yancey told Fox News Digital.
Humans can get sick by accidentally ingesting worm eggs after handling contaminated soil or eating contaminated food.
They can also get the infection by touching a pet that has the tapeworm and then touching their mouth, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The hallmark of the infection is fluid-filled sacs called cysts, which contain thousands of very small, immature tapeworms that commonly develop in the liver but can spread to other parts of the body, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The infection often goes undetected for years, or even decades, because the cysts grow at a very slow rate.
There are two main types of forms of the disease: cystic echinococcosis and alveolar echinococcosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With cystic echinococcosis, cysts often develop in the liver and lungs.
The body responds by building a protective wall around it as the cysts continue to slowly grow over years.
Symptoms may include abdominal pain or an enlarged abdomen (if the liver is infected) or cough and difficulty breathing (if the lungs are infected).
These signs usually don't appear until the cysts grow large enough to press on healthy organs and tissues, according to the CDC.
The infection becomes dangerous when a cyst ruptures (most often due to trauma).
Researchers at the University of Washington discovered tapeworm, which can cause a rare but potentially fatal disease in humans, in 37 of every 100 coyotes sampled near Puget Sound in Washington state.
The findings were published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases earlier this year.
The researchers noted that the presence of the parasite in wildlife does not mean that human infections are common and that the risk to the general public remains low.
"The reason [cases are] so high in coyotes is because they regularly eat raw rodents, and that's the main way they become infected," lead author Yasmine Hentati, who recently graduated from the University of Washington with a doctorate in environmental and forestry sciences, said in a news release.
Genetic testing in the study showed that the coyotes carried a newer, more infectious European variant that has become the predominant strain in the United States and Canada.
Before the 2010s, parasitic tapeworm was extremely rare in North America, and cases were largely limited to the remote islands of Alaska, the authors said.
Over the past 15 years, the parasite has expanded its range and infections in dogs and humans have increased throughout the Midwest US and Canada, according to previous reports.
Cases in coyotes have been spreading westward from the upper Midwest for several years, and infected animals have been found on the West Coast, according to Dr.
Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann in the Houston area.
While Eastern Europe has some cases, the infection is very rare in the United States, Yancey said.
Most cases of echinococcosis are diagnosed in patients who emigrated or traveled to Central and Eastern Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
"Globally, the area with the highest prevalence of human fox tapeworm infections is western China," Yancey added.
The tapeworm is transmitted among wild animals known as canids, which typically pass from foxes to rodents and back to foxes, and is often known as the “fox tapeworm,” Yancey told Fox News Digital.
Humans can get sick by accidentally ingesting worm eggs after handling contaminated soil or eating contaminated food.
They can also get the infection by touching a pet that has the tapeworm and then touching their mouth, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The hallmark of the infection is fluid-filled sacs called cysts, which contain thousands of very small, immature tapeworms that commonly develop in the liver but can spread to other parts of the body, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The infection often goes undetected for years, or even decades, because the cysts grow at a very slow rate.
There are two main types of forms of the disease: cystic echinococcosis and alveolar echinococcosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With cystic echinococcosis, cysts often develop in the liver and lungs.
The body responds by building a protective wall around it as the cysts continue to slowly grow over years.
Symptoms may include abdominal pain or an enlarged abdomen (if the liver is infected) or cough and difficulty breathing (if the lungs are infected).
These signs usually don't appear until the cysts grow large enough to press on healthy organs and tissues, according to the CDC.
The infection becomes dangerous when a cyst ruptures (most often due to trauma).
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