Cases of worm infection Onchocerca lupi Previously recorded in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and now for the first time in Israel as well. Prof. Bennett: "The fact that the worm was discovered in Israel in a dog that never left the country indicates that there is a cycle of infection with the parasite in Israel, and therefore there is a future danger to humans and other dogs as well"
Cases of worm infection Onchocerca lupi Previously recorded in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and now for the first time in Israel as well. Prof. Bennett: "The fact that the worm was discovered in Israel in a dog that never left the country indicates that there is a cycle of infection with the parasite in Israel, and therefore there is a future danger to humans and other dogs as well"
Onchocerca lupi, a worm that affects the eyes of dogs and humans which has been reported in various parts of the world including North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, was discovered for the first time in a dog in Israel. The worm, which can cause serious and irreversible damage to vision and in extreme cases blindness, is mainly common in dogs, but there is evidence from around the world that it infects people. In a review published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, Prof. Gad Bennett from the School of Veterinary Medicine in the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and the Environment at the Hebrew University describes the Israeli case, its characteristics and the risks that arise from it.
The first case of the worm was discovered in 1967 in a wolf in Georgia, and since then other phenomena of the worm in dogs, cats and humans have been documented throughout the Middle East, Europe and North America. The many cases of people being infected with this worm raised the interest of the research community in its biology, which is still unknown. Now, with the discovery of the case in Israel as well, there is a fear of additional cases in the region that are not reported. Prof. Gad Bennett: "The fact that the worm was discovered in Israel in a dog that never left the country indicates that there is a cycle of parasite infection in the country, and therefore there is a future danger to humans and other dogs as well."
Bennett: "Since this issue is not known to doctors, veterinarians and the public, it is important that this matter reaches a wide awareness so that the possibility of infection with the worm Onchocerca lupi Go up when people or animals with appropriate signs of illness arrive for treatment." The symptoms of worm infection in dogs that you should pay attention to are inflammation of the eye, conjunctiva and tissues around the eye. In humans, the worm can cause inflammation in the eye and tissues around it, as well as in the spine.
The research was done together with Dr. Alicia Rojas from the University of Costa Rica, Dr. Daniel Yasser-Landau from the Kimron Veterinary Institute at the Ministry of Agriculture and Dr. Khoi Zarfati, a private veterinarian who first received the case and dealt with his clinical treatment.
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