Risk Assessment Of The Spread Of Echinococcus Multilocularis Into And Within Finland

• Main Author: National Veterinary And Food Research Institute
• Format: Report
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2001
• Subjects: Finland; Opinion; Echinococcus multilocularis; berries; mushrooms; raccoon dog; dogs; foxes; http//id.agrisemantics.org/gacs/C22319; http//id.agrisemantics.org/gacs/C2471; http//id.agrisemantics.org/gacs/C5073; http//id.agrisemantics.org/gacs/C144; http//id.agrisemantics.org/gacs/C8929; White Sea; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.848767; https://zenodo.org/record/848767

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry submitted a formal request to the National Veterinary and Food Research Institute EELA, dated October 2000, for a report on the risks of Echinococcus multilocularis spreading into Finland and on the optimum measures to be taken to stop its potential spread into Finland. This qualitative risk assessment was produced in co-operation between all the group members following the import risk analysis principles of OIE. Limited resources were available for the assessment, and therefore only essential information is presented and discussed. According to assessment, the risk of the parasite spreading into the Finland via wild animals is greatest from the regions closest to Finland. There is a risk of it spreading from the regions beyond the White Sea. The parasite could enter Finland from Spitsbergen via dogs which have not been wormed, which at the moment should not be possible. The likelihood of the parasite spread into Finland from the area beyond the south-eastern border in unclear. If the infection is introduced into Finland, it can spread wherever the population density of the definitive host exceeds the transmission thresholds density. In the beginning, the occurrence of the parasite would probably be sporadic. The risk of the infection spreading within Finland is moderate, and it would take years for the parasite to have spread throughout the whole country. : FI; en; [e-mail]