I didn't know I'd been hosting a parasite for years - until the most intense pain of my life

Key Points:

• Meredydd Jones, an 86-year-old sheep farmer from Powys, was diagnosed with hydatid disease after experiencing severe lung pain, leading to two surgeries in 2018 and 2019 to remove cysts caused by a tapeworm.
• Hydatid disease is a rare but serious condition transmitted from dogs to humans, particularly affecting sheep farming regions, with cysts that can take 10 to 20 years to show symptoms and may require surgical treatment.
• Public health campaigns have emphasized regular worming of dogs and hygiene, but recent evidence suggests the disease is re-emerging in sheep and dogs in mid Wales, posing ongoing risks to farmers.
• Aberystwyth University researchers are conducting a GPS tracking study on sheepdogs to understand how the disease spreads through dog movements and interactions, aiming to improve early detection and control measures.
• Public Health Wales highlights the importance of addressing hydatid disease at the animal level to prevent human cases, given the tapeworm's endemic presence in mid Wales due to local sheep farming practices.