Drug-resistant hookworms put pets and people at risk

Canine hookworms are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs across Australia, according to new research.

2025-01-07

(Press-News.org) Canine hookworms are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs across Australia, according to new research.

Scientists at The University of Queensland and The University of Sydney have identified widespread resistance to benzimidazole-based dewormers which are commonly used to treat gastrointestinal parasites in dogs.

Dr Swaid Abdullah from UQ’s School of Veterinary Science said almost 70 per cent of the hookworm samples studied showed genetic mutations that can cause drug resistance.

“This is a big problem, as hookworm infections can be dangerous for both humans and animals,” Dr Abdullah said.

“In dogs, hookworm infections primarily affect the small intestine leading to anaemia, diarrhea, and malnutrition.

“But worse still, the parasites can spread to humans through the skin.

“In people, hookworms from dogs can cause cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) disease – or ‘creeping eruption’ – which is a winding, snake-like rash with blisters and itching.”

Dr Abdullah said the best weapons against canine hookworms have been benzimidazole-based dewormers, but they are starting to fail.

“This level of resistance is an urgent issue for pet and public health,” he said.

The study team used advanced parasitological diagnostics to examine samples from more than 100 animals in Australia and New Zealand.

The results showed resistance was spreading through hookworm species including the northern hookworm, which had previously been thought to be unaffected.

Professor Jan Šlapeta from The University of Sydney said routine reliance on deworming drugs is likely fuelling the development of resistance

“Responsible parasite management by veterinarians is going to be vital moving forward,” Professor Šlapeta said.

“We’re calling for a shift toward targeted, risk-based treatment to curb the spread of resistant hookworm.

“Responsible doctors don’t give blanket antibiotics to any and all of their patients, and deworming should be approached in the same way if we’re to limit drug resistance.

“As resistance spreads, we need ongoing monitoring and the development of new control strategies to protect animal and human health.

“This study is a wake-up call for both pet owners and veterinarians alike – the era of effortless parasite control may be coming to an end.”

The research is published in the International Journal of Parasitology.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Drug-resistant hookworms put pets and people at risk 2

Drug-resistant hookworms put pets and people at risk 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New strontium isotope map of Sub-Saharan Africa is a powerful tool for archaeology, forensics, and wildlife conservation

2025-01-07

A team of researchers led by UC Santa Cruz recently released a sophisticated new map that reveals, for the first time, the unique “geologic fingerprints” for most of the African continent. The map will help archaeologists, conservation scientists, and forensics experts match artifacts and plant, animal, and human remains found at locations around the world back to their most likely region of origin within Africa, offering new insights on issues ranging from the history of the transatlantic slave trade to modern wildlife trafficking and human migration patterns. The research team’s ...

‘Sandwich carers’ experience decline in mental and physical health

2025-01-07

People who care for both their children and older family members – also known as ‘sandwich carers’ – suffer from deterioration in both their mental and physical health over time, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published in Public Health, analysed data from around 2,000 sandwich carers and 2,000 non-sandwich carers from the UK Household Longitudinal Study between 2009 and 2020. Sandwich carers juggle the responsibilities of caring for ageing parents or older relatives while raising dependent children ...

A new way to determine whether a species will successfully invade an ecosystem

2025-01-06

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- When a new species is introduced into an ecosystem, it may succeed in establishing itself, or it may fail to gain a foothold and die out. Physicists at MIT have now devised a formula that can predict which of those outcomes is most likely. The researchers created their formula based on analysis of hundreds of different scenarios that they modeled using populations of soil bacteria grown in their laboratory. They now plan to test their formula in larger-scale ecosystems, including forests. This approach could also be helpful in predicting whether probiotics or fecal microbiota treatments (FMT) would successfully combat infections of the human GI tract. “People ...

A change in the weather in the U.S. Corn Belt

2025-01-06

A change in the weather in the U.S. Corn Belt Intensive farming and shallow groundwater affect precipitation patterns The sweeping land use changes and irrigation of the U.S. Corn Belt, along with the influence of the area’s shallow groundwater, have significantly altered precipitation patterns in that vital agricultural region, new research shows. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on “precipitation recycling” — a process in which the moisture released to the atmosphere by plants, soils, lakes, and other features of the landscape returns to the same area in the form of rain. By using advanced ...

How we classify flood risk may give developers, home buyers a false sense of security

2025-01-06

Common methods of communicating flood risk may create a false sense of security, leading to increased development in areas threatened by flooding. This phenomenon, called the “safe development paradox,” is described in a new paper from North Carolina State University. Lead author Georgina Sanchez, a research scholar in NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics, said this may be an unintended byproduct of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency classifies areas based on their probability of dangerous flooding. Known as flood mapping, this classification system describes areas in terms of their likelihood of being flooded each year. These ...

GLP-1 drugs may reduce surgery complications in patients with diabetes

2025-01-06

People with diabetes who were taking GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs such as tirzepatide and semaglutide had significantly lower rates of hospital readmission, wound re-opening and hematoma after surgery, according to a large study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian. The study, published online in advance of print on Dec. 20 in the Annals of Surgery, analyzed de-identified hospital records covering 74,425 surgical procedures in 21,772 patients with diabetes over a three-and-a-half-year period ending in July 2023. The investigators found that patients taking GLP-1 receptor agonists, known informally ...

Physicists explain a stellar stream’s distinctive features

2025-01-06

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Physicists have proposed a solution to a long-standing puzzle surrounding the GD-1 stellar stream, one of the most well-studied streams within the galactic halo of the Milky Way, known for its long, thin structure, and unusual spur and gap features. The team of researchers, led by Hai-Bo Yu at the University of California, Riverside, proposed that a core-collapsing self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) “subhalo” — a smaller, satellite halo within the galactic halo — is responsible for the peculiar spur and gap features observed in the GD-1 stellar stream. Study ...

GLP-1 RA medications safe and very effective for treating obesity in adults without diabetes

2025-01-06

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 6 January 2025 @Annalsofim Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent. ---------------------------- 1. ...

Efforts to reduce kids' screen time weakened by unequal access to green space

2025-01-06

When children have a place to play outside, programs aimed at reducing their screen time use are more successful, according to a University of Michigan study. The study also found that such programs are less successful in neighborhoods where children have less access to green spaces, which include areas such as forests, shrubland, open spaces and grassland, according to lead author Ian-Marshall Lang, a researcher at U-M's School of Kinesiology and first author of the study. "Because prior studies have shown differences in the effectiveness of community ...

Study reveals rising interest in permanent contraception after Roe v. Wade was overturned

2025-01-06

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2025) - A new study from the George Washington University found a significant increase in the number of U.S. young adults seeking permanent contraception, specifically tubal sterilization and vasectomy, following the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision which overturned Roe v. Wade. “Our study shows that the Dobbs decision has had a profound effect on young adults’ reproductive choices, leading many to opt for permanent contraception in the months following the decision,” said Julia Strasser, director of the Jacobs Institute ...

Tirzepatide improves blood sugar control in children aged 10-17 years with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on existing therapies (SURPASS-PEDS trial)

Drug-resistant hookworms put pets and people at risk

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: