Trade routes have always carried more than goods. They move animals, and the pathogens those animals carry. A recent study shows how that plays out in real time. Researchers at a port slaughterhouse in northwestern China examined 1,900 donkeys imported from Kyrgyzstan between November 2023 and February 2024. What they turned up is worth paying attention to. A Parasite Worth Knowing Echinococcus equinus (genotype G4) is a tapeworm that causes cystic echinococcosis — a parasitic disease where fluid-filled cysts form in the liver, lungs, and other organs. The WHO lists it among the neglected tropical diseases. The life cycle works like this. Adult tapeworms live in the intestines of dogs, foxes,…