I am putting this information out to the public because most people including Trappers, don‘t know the risks involved with this disease. (This is one of the main reasons that Targeted Trapping of Coyotes and Foxes out of your subdivisions and property is so important) We as Trappers have to be very careful when we handle the carcass of a Coyote or Fox and we must do so with latex gloves. The disease has a high degree of Mortality. Hydatid disease is much worse because the cysts grow inside the body and reproduce to the point that symptoms appear. Rabies is a bad disease but it can be treated immediately. This is relative depending on the body of the host. The latency period stated by the CDC is from 5-15 years before symptoms appear. The eggs migrate to the lungs, liver or the brain where they will live and grow. I came across this realization when I was studying this disease and reflecting on coyote and canine behavior.
Here is the most disturbing part, once the eggs dry out, they are still alive but they will become airborne and could be inhaled by the owner or his children. Pet owners and children can transmit the disease to themselves by rubbing the fur and then from hand to mouth, eyes, nose. He will then return home to his owner who has no idea that his pet is carrying this disease on his fur. When you dog rolls in the scat of an infected animal, he will transfer the scat and live eggs of the tapeworm to his fur. But here is what the government is not telling you. If he has been treated for tapeworm and is current on his pills, this is no issue. If you allow your dog to roam at will he will encounter the scat of these animals and will either eat it or roll in it. They are also roaming our neighborhoods at night dropping this infected scat in our yards. We all know that coyotes are living in and around our subdivisions and killing our pets.