Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of
Date of this Version
8-1959
Abstract
It is generally recognized that canine animals comprise an important reservoir of parasites and diseases transmissible to man. These animals, including the domestic dog, have unusual economic importance in arctic and subarctic North America, particularly for the Eskimos and Indians living in more remote regions. These aboriginal peoples continually have close association with canine animals and would appear to be quite vulnerable to infection from this source. That this is true is already evident, although data on morbidity from animal-borne diseases are far from complete. At the present time, at least in Alaska, these people have little ability to lessen the degree of exposure to zoonotic diseases, for poverty, ignorance of the problems, and adverse climatic conditions combine in making it difficult to effect sanitary practices necessary to prevent such exposures.
Comments
Published in Journal of Parasitology (August 1959) v. 45, no. 4, section 1.