"Precautionary Tests" - Hydatid Worm

28 May 2024: My daughter's bag & dog, Sam. The little brown dog, Cudi, his brother. 

Mia was re-admitted by recommendation of her thoracic surgeon for "further testing". The two aforentioned dogs are mad keen on eating offal they sniff out in the bush around here. Our fear is that they've injested hydatid cysts and passed worm eggs onto Mia. We share our days with our dogs and commonly manage their stink with a playful shove. As it happens this is not likely the cause of Mia's "infection", the major reason for her second admission concerned a lack of surgical knowledge. They've since learned that allowing "cyst juice" to escape inside the body can cause anaphylactic shock & spread infestation. 

My bike at the hospital.

@ 1 May 2024: Here are the key findings from Mia's experience:- 

* The cyst attached to her lungs was due to Hydatid Worms. 

* The Hydatid Tapeworm is hosted in isolation by herbivores with cysts but if eaten by carnivores the eggs are excreted onto grass, vegetables or water & spread to other herbivores. 

* Hydatid parasites usually attach to the lungs, liver & brain & usually the right side of the body. Cyst increase a centimeter a year and present no symptoms other than impairing the function of the host organ in their mature stages of development.

* Mia's infestation was identified solely by laboured breathing due to a cyst the size of a "small melon".

.* Infestation is uncommon in NSW, there are a handful of cases each year in Queensland and many more in impoverished countries closer to the equator eg.India.  

* The only cure is surgical removal. This presents contamination risks; the reason for readmission. But, as a bonus  the hospital staff ruled out any earloer infestation by scanning the brain & liver.

* The mechanism of infestation is by ingesting water or vegetables with worm eggs, typically during childhood.