Dr. Adler Dillman discovered the potentially fatal dog parasite Heterobilharzia americana in the Colorado River. This parasite, which causes severe illness in dogs, was previously found only in the Gulf Coast. Since 2019, 11 dogs in California have been affected. The parasite doesn’t harm humans beyond causing an itch. 

These findings were recenlty published in the Pathogens journal with the title Canine Schistosomiasis in the West Coast: Heterobilharzia americana in Two Natural Intermediate Hosts Found in the Colorado River, California.

The full article about these findings and the publication of this research can be found on the UCR News site, titled Dog-killing flatworm discovered in Southern California.