Hydatid disease is a neglected zoonotic parasitic disease caused by cysts of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. Canids, especially domestic dogs, are definitive hosts of the parasite and are the most pragmatic targets for control programs. A governmental dog deworming campaign was established in 1979 to control hydatidosis in southern Chile, which succeeded in reducing the prevalence of canine echinococcosis in Tierra del Fuego province from 68.4% (in 1978) to 1.2% (in 2002). In 2004, however, the program was dismantled to reduce costs, and since then, no follow-up echinococcosis monitoring has been conducted. We surveyed 356 domestic dogs and interviewed owners or workers at 45 ranches in Chilean Tierra del Fuego during the summer of 2015-2016. Faecal flotation was employed to detect Taeniidae eggs, and PCR was used to test faecal samples for Echinococcus granulosus. Taeniidae eggs and Echinococcus sp. DNA were detected in the faeces of 45.4% (147/324) and 6.9% (23/331) of dogs, respectively. Infrequent dog deworming and the presence of culpeo foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus) were significant predictors of the prevalence of Echinococcus sp. DNA and Taeniidae eggs. Furthermore, the presence of introduced chilla foxes (Lycalopex griseus), the municipality, and several operational characteristics of ranches (number of sheep, frequency of sheep slaughter, number of dogs, frequency of removal of dog faeces, feeding of dogs with sheep viscera) were also predictive of the prevalence of Taeniidae eggs. Our findings reveal an ongoing risk of echinococcosis with pathogen maintenance in ranch dogs in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, and in the absence of adequate control programmes, there is a tangible risk of reemergence of hydatid disease as a public health concern.

As the world's most ubiquitous carnivore, domestic dogs maintain unique proximity to human populations. Partly because dogs potentially serve as hosts of zoonotic diseases, determinants of canine health are increasingly the focus of interdisciplinary research. Emerging perspectives suggest that dogs' health may vary as a function of their owners' wealth and financial resources, a correlation that could potentially inform public health programs and conservation efforts. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between household wealth and the health of domestic dogs (n = 208) among indigenous Mayangna communities in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. The dogs were evaluated using serum biochemistry, complete blood count, and physical exam findings. Using these data, a principal components analysis (PCA) determined the presence of four "syndromes": 1) decreased body condition score (BCS) & hypoalbuminemia; 2) lymphocytosis & eosinophilia; 3) segmented neutrophilia; and 4) lymphadenopathy, tick infestation, & hyperglobulinemia. An inventory of possessions indexed household wealth. For all four syndromes, household wealth was a weak and uninformative predictor of the dogs' health. The few differences seen among dogs from households with different degrees of wealth likely reflect that nearly all dogs had marginal health and all households were relatively poor. Results from this study imply that owners' wealth may have diverse effects on canine health in rural settings.