title: Public Health Follow-up of Suspected Exposure to Echinococcus multilocularis in Southwestern Ontario.
abstract: In the 3 years since the first report of canine alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in Ontario, three additional cases have been diagnosed in the province. Of the four cases reported to date, three have had no known history of travel outside the province. It is possible that this development is an indication of previously unrecognized environmental contamination with Echinococcus multilocularis eggs in some areas of the province. If so, there is the potential for an emerging threat to human health. This article describes a local public health department's investigation of the possible exposure to E. multilocularis of a number of individuals who had had contact with the latest of the four cases of canine AE, and summarizes a comprehensive decision process that can be used by public health departments to assist in the follow-up of such exposures.
authors.affiliation: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Trotz-Williams
authors.affiliation: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Mercer
authors.affiliation: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.affiliation: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Institut für Parasitologie, Universität Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gottstein
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Osterman-Lind
authors.affiliation: Tropical Diseases Unit, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto, ON, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Boggild
authors.affiliation: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Peregrine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D004443:Echinococcosis; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D010067:Ownership; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011634:Public Health; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D011223:Praziquantel
keywords: 
  Echinococcus multilocularis
  ; alveolar echinococcosis; dogs; public health