| MILLBROOK,
N.Y. (AP) — A parasitic disease rarely found in this
country has killed 21 foxhounds and has sickened at least
20 others, prompting the national fox-hunting organization
to cancel events. The disease can also affect humans.
One
after another, the hounds at Millbrook Hunt in Dutchess
County became lethargic. Losing weight and patches of
hair, the dogs developed enlarged joints, crusty skin
lesions and rope-like knots underneath their skin.
The
culprit was identified this spring by researchers at North
Carolina State University as a strain of leishmaniasis,
typically found in warm, coastal areas like Brazil, the
Mediterranean, India and the Sudan.
Normally
transmitted by sand flies, the disease is considered curable
in humans, but it has killed people in other countries.
It has rarely been diagnosed in the United States.
Among
foxhounds, the disease has been found in kennels in 20
states and Canada, but only the Millbrook hounds have
died.
"This
should not be in the U.S.,'' Edward B. Breitschwerdt,
professor of medicine and infectious diseases at North
Carolina State, told The New York Times. "We're truly
dealing with a foreign animal disease that remains very
unclear to all of us still.''
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing
people who have come into contact with the foxhounds in
Millbrook and collecting samples from 10,000 dogs around
the country.
While
12 percent of the 9,000 hounds tested so far have shown
some blood-test evidence of infection, only 1 percent
have been confirmed as being infected, said Dr. Peter
Schantz, a veterinarian and epidemiologist in the CDC's
division of parasitic diseases.
The
Millbrook dogs started dying a year ago.
This
spring, the Masters of Foxhounds Association, the sport's
national governing body, canceled all fox-hunting events
and urged kennels to quarantine leishmaniasis-positive
dogs.
"We're
being super-cautious, because nobody knows all the answers,''
said Dennis Foster, the organization's executive director.
"If there's any question, we don't do it, that's
our philosophy.''
The
Times said the disease probably came to this country when
an American soldier returned from overseas with an infected
dog. The disease was diagnosed in several soldiers during
the Persian Gulf War, the newspaper said.
North
Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov
Masters
of Foxhounds Association: http://www.mfha.com
|
