BoatCop
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This is from a La Paz County Health Department Release:
Sources have shed light on a new flatworm, Heterobilharzia americana (HA), in Utah and California migrating through the Colorado River (Baniya el al., 2024, Graham el al., 2021). The University of California, Riverside has identified this parasitic liver fluke in parts of the Colorado River in Blythe. A public advisory is being distributed due to an increased risk that parasite may be in Arizona.
This parasite canNOT be seen with the naked eye. HA can infect humans through body contact or ingestion but is not lethal. The parasite can be lethal to canines. It would be best to not play or swim in areas where you see a lot of snails.
Humans exposed to the parasite may show signs of a nuisance rash, such as “swimmer’s rash”. However, dogs can develop illness that impacts the liver and intestines. Canine symptoms may include:
o vomiting,
o coughing, fever,
o bloody diarrhea,
o anorexia and weight loss,
o lethargy,
o polyuria and polydipsia (Baniya et al., 2024 and CDC 2019).
Please seek medical attention for your pet if exhibiting symptoms following playing in or near the river.
The report from Dr. Dillman references finding the parasite in snails along the river extending from Moab to Blythe. HA uses snails and canines as hosts to develop and distribute. Eggs are passed in feces and hatch in water. Snails act as intermediate hosts (picture). HA is released by the snail back into the water where the parasite can then attach to a dog or human host. It may take 68 days post-infection to observe eggs in feces (taken from the publication Exploring the Biodiversity of Parasites in Humans, Wild and Domestic Animals, 13th vol. Created by Baniya el al., 2024).
Sources have shed light on a new flatworm, Heterobilharzia americana (HA), in Utah and California migrating through the Colorado River (Baniya el al., 2024, Graham el al., 2021). The University of California, Riverside has identified this parasitic liver fluke in parts of the Colorado River in Blythe. A public advisory is being distributed due to an increased risk that parasite may be in Arizona.
This parasite canNOT be seen with the naked eye. HA can infect humans through body contact or ingestion but is not lethal. The parasite can be lethal to canines. It would be best to not play or swim in areas where you see a lot of snails.
Humans exposed to the parasite may show signs of a nuisance rash, such as “swimmer’s rash”. However, dogs can develop illness that impacts the liver and intestines. Canine symptoms may include:
o vomiting,
o coughing, fever,
o bloody diarrhea,
o anorexia and weight loss,
o lethargy,
o polyuria and polydipsia (Baniya et al., 2024 and CDC 2019).
Please seek medical attention for your pet if exhibiting symptoms following playing in or near the river.
The report from Dr. Dillman references finding the parasite in snails along the river extending from Moab to Blythe. HA uses snails and canines as hosts to develop and distribute. Eggs are passed in feces and hatch in water. Snails act as intermediate hosts (picture). HA is released by the snail back into the water where the parasite can then attach to a dog or human host. It may take 68 days post-infection to observe eggs in feces (taken from the publication Exploring the Biodiversity of Parasites in Humans, Wild and Domestic Animals, 13th vol. Created by Baniya el al., 2024).
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