Several cases of Fox disease in Nord-Pas-de-Calais

After'anthrax epidemic (anthrax) in August, should we fear the Fox disease in France? It is France Info that draws the alarm signal by reporting several cases of alveolar echinococcosis reported in the regions of North and Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The inhabitants are invited to be extremely vigilant when eating vegetables or fruits grown in a garden where foxes can venture, those who come into contact with these animals or even those who simply walk their dogs in the gardens. forests of these regions.

What is Fox's disease?

It belongs to the category of diseases called "anthropozoonosis", that is to say thatit is transmissible from animals to humans. Echinococci are flatworms measuring 1.2 to 4 mm in the taenid family (better known as Ténia). Foxes, mainly, are infected after eating rodents themselves affected by the larva present in the seeds they eat. The larva will encyst in the fox's liver and release parasites that will grow and develop inside the organ. The parasites then release eggs that will be present in the feces of the animal and soil the soil where can grow fruits and vegetables. Sometimes even a simple contact with the coat of the contaminated animal can be enough to transmit the disease.

The risk for humans is the development of echinococcal larvae (possible in one in ten cases) in the liver that can destroy their tissue. The problem is that most often the signs appear very late after the contamination. You may be sick with fever and stomach pain with an alteration of the general condition since the liver is gradually destroyed. If the disease is not detected in time, it can be fatal for the patient.

How to protect yourself?

– Do not eat wild berries without washing them
– Wash hands after touching the ground, his dog or a touched animal in the forest.
– Deworming your pets against parasites.
– Do not feed his pets with raw abbots
– Do not touch the corpse of a fox