Region toughens dog control to curb parasitic disease

The Tibet autonomous region has toughened up its management of domestic and wild dogs in order to curb the spread of tapeworm infections in humans, Wang Yunting, deputy director of the regional health commission, said on Thursday.

Tibet sees the highest rate of echinococcosis in China - a potentially deadly disease caused by tapeworm infections - at 1.66 percent. This is largely due to Tibet people's strong affection for dogs, one of the major carriers of the parasite, Wang said.

"By mobilizing public security forces and community workers to take stock of domestic dogs, implanting chips to keep track of their movements and setting up more shelters for stray dogs, we are aiming at combating the disease from the source of infection," he said.

Local authorities are also conducting tests on animal samples to improve prevention and treatment methods, while strengthening supervision over cattle and sheep herds, Wang added.

"Residents in Tibet are very fond of dogs, and in herding areas some breeds like mastiff dogs are treated like family members, which puts great pressure on dog management," Wang said.

So far, about 190,000 domestic dogs have been registered with local authorities, and 224,000 have either been issued with identification tags or had tracking chips inserted. There are roughly 500,000 dogs in Tibet.

"The chips are meant to help us track and observe their movements, and monitor the use of rabies vaccines and medicines to expel insects," Wang said.

In addition, Tibet has set up 44 shelters for stray dogs, and nearly 250,000 strays have been taken in so far.

A screening of about three million people in Tibet, completed near the end of 2017, found more than 26,800 confirmed or suspected cases of echinococcosis, according to the regional center for disease control.

Without proper treatment, the 10-year mortality rate for the parasite disease can reach as high as 94 percent.

Regional regulations on dog management in Tibet stipulate that most households are allowed to have two dogs, while each household in herding areas is entitled to raise three. A temple can have a maximum of five dogs.