Hydatids Control

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31198, 24 October 1966, Page 10

Hydatids Control

Sir, —I know of Dunedin people who rented a car in which they made a journey with the family dog in the back seat. The dog was frequently sick, and on return home the mess was cleaned up with paper. What of the dangers to the future users of this car—children for instance, who drop sweets on the floor and then eat them? Dogs should be carried in boxes on the side or at the back of cars. Why have not the hydatid control authorities made it unlawful for dogs to be carried in rental cars? —Yours, etc., CONSIDER OTHERS.

October 18, 1966. [Mr G. A. Thompson, chief veterinary officer of the National Hydatids Council, replies: “The incidence of hydatids in pet dogs domiciled in city areas has been found to be very low (less than one in a thousand) throughout the last few years and therefore the risks of hydatid infection developing from the circumstances described are very slight. However, the National Hydatids Council still

approves the principle that proper regard for hygiene should govern the handling of dogs and that dogs should be caged or boxed for transport whether by motorcar or other means. Neither the council nor hydatid control authorities can make laws. Only Parliament can do this.”]