Scientists Detail a New Danger for California Dogs

A dog enjoying a snack (File Photo – Canine Haven)

Adler R. Dillman,Cchair of UC Riverside’s Department of Nematology and an expert in parasitology, along with his team of researchers has discovered and named a danger previously unknown for dogs in California.

By Briony James

Ten dogs were sickened and another died, all from Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange Counties and all having spent time at the Colorado River. A parasite called Heterobilharzia americana, a flatworm commonly referred to as liver fluke, caused the illness of the dogs.

Normally found in Texas and in the South, this parasite, is carried by two species of snails, Galba cubensis and Galba humilis; they incubate the flatworm larvae which find hosts in mammals. The parasite can cause canine schistosomiasis, an illness that affects the liver and intestines of dogs. Symptoms include: loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and signs of liver disease such as jaundice and excessive urination. All of the dogs affected by this disease had been found to have spent time swimming in the Colorado River near Blythe, at Quechan Park and Hidden Beaches Resort.  It is unclear how the snails migrated from their normal range.  There was an outbreak of canine schistosomiasis in 2018 in Moab, Utah. of 12 dogs living near a man-made pond only a couple of miles from the Colorado River.

What to know

It is important for pet owners to know this danger to their canines. The disease cannot be transmitted to humans, although swimming in contaminated water can cause people to get temporary rashes.  In canines, the disease progresses slowly, so pet owners who have been anywhere near these areas of the Colorado River would be well advised to get fecal testing of their animals to ensure their safety.