Echinococcus multilocularis identified in Indiana, Ohio, and east-central Illinois.

Echinococcus multilocularis was identified in a coyote in Indiana in January 1990. Subsequently, 300 wild canids (red foxes, gray foxes, coyotes) were collected from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky and examined for this parasite. Of these, 41 (13.7%) were infected with E. multilocularis. Infected animals were from northern and central Indiana, northwestern Ohio, and east-central Illinois. Twenty-nine of 162 (17.9%) animals from northern and central Indiana were positive, versus 0 of 83 from southern Indiana. Infected animals from northern and central Indiana included 16 of 71 (22.5%) red foxes and 13 of 70 (18.6%) coyotes. In Ohio, 6 of 22 (27.3%) red foxes were infected, and in Illinois, 6 of 17 (35.3%) coyotes were positive. Mean intensity of infection for red foxes was 372 worms (range, 2-3, 640), and for coyotes, 6,579 worms (range, 1-52,000). These findings constitute new state and distribution records for E. multilocularis and a significant range extension for this parasite species in central North America.