ALTHOUGH generally regarded as ‘man’s best friend’, in some developing countries the domestic dog can also harbour dangerous zoonotic (human-affecting) diseases and parasites.

In an effort to combat this problem, Murdoch Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences PhD student Rebecca Traub has chosen a remote rural tea growing community in Assam, India to discover how dogs transmit parasites to tea plantation workers.

Dr Traub is being helped significantly in her research by a three-year, $75,000 grant from Bayer AG (Germany).

“There has been little or no research conducted among these communities, especially on the close relationship the tea workers share with their pet dogs, which follow them to work each day and roam freely through the houses and gardens,” said Dr Traub.

“Poor socio-economic conditions and hygiene levels, coupled with a lack of zoonotic awareness and veterinary care for their dogs, has combined to put these workers at extreme risk of contracting severe zoonotic diseases.

“When dog parasites are transmitted to humans, diseases ranging from hookworm dermatitis, or “creeping eruptions”, to the more serious hydatid disease and blindness due to Toxocariasis, can result.”

Moreover, said Dr Traub, dogs in these communities were also acting as mechanical transmitters of human parasites by eating human faeces.

Dr Traub, who recently returned from conducting three-months of intense field trials on tea workers at the Williamson and Mangor Teas Estates, Assam, said results indicated up to 80 per cent of workers were infected with gastrointestinal parasites.

“This would probably be the main cause of malnutrition and anaemia in the community,” she said.

Dr Traub believes effective parasite control within the community, for both parasites and dogs, would only come after a major collaborative effort between medical practitioners, management and tea workers.

Part of this would involve the introduction of health education programs aimed at increasing community awareness, providing advice on improved methods of sanitation and hygiene, and regular de-worming programs for both humans and dogs.

“This is where Bayer’s assistance will really come into its own,” said Dr Traub.

“As one of the world’s leading international chemical and health care groups, Bayer produces Allwormer for pets and a host of other products which could prove extremely useful in the fight against the parasites.

“These drugs could also be applied in other countries where these problems exist, should the research prove successful.”

On another level, even the most basic hygiene education, such as wearing sandals when outside and washing of hands and vegetables thoroughly, could help reduce the levels of parasitic infection, she added.

But Dr Traub’s involvement with the tea plantation workers has not ended with the detailed interviews about their medical history, social habits and interaction with dogs.

She was also invited to address the “Women’s Club” - a World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative designed to help educate women on rural health issues.

Using a basic picture poster as a learning aid, Dr Traub discussed her simple and effective methods for parasite control with rural women and also talked to the local branch of the Indian Medical Association on Rabies.

Dr Traub, who speaks fluent Hindi, said much of her drive to improve public health conditions in communities such as this arose from her childhood growing up in Calcutta.

As testimony to her success in the area so far, her research has already been selected by Bayer for oral presentation at a seminar at the Congress of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) conference in Stresa, Italy in August 2001.

She will also give a presentation at the Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP) annual meeting in Cairns, Queensland this month.