RIVERSIDE – (INT) - Scientists with UC Riverside’s department of nematology have discovered the parasite Heterobilharzia americana, a flatworm commonly known as a liver fluke.

The discovery was made along the banks of the Colorado River, according to a news release from the university. The parasite had been documented almost exclusively in Texas and other Gulf Coast states, and “has never been reported this far west,” the release said. It raises concerns for public health and the species that live along the river and its surrounding tributaries.

The flatworm is capable of infecting raccoons, marsh rabbits, horses, bobcats, mountain lions, opossums and other mammals, per the UC Riverside team’s study, which was published in the scientific journal Pathogens.

As summer looms, scientists are warning people to stop their canine companions from going for a swim in the river before it’s too late.

“Dogs can die from this infection, so we are hoping to raise public awareness that it’s there,” UCR nematology professor Adler Dillman said in the news release. “If you’re swimming in the Colorado River with them, your pets are in peril.”

Story Date: March 24, 2024