title: Prevalence of hydatidosis among donkeys in northern Jordan.
abstract: One hundred and thirty donkeys (Equus asinus), aged between 5 months and 14 years of age, from the Irbid Governorate in northern Jordan were necropsied between November 1997-May 1999. Of these animals, 16.9% had hydatid cysts in either their lungs and/or livers. No donkeys of 3 years of age or less were infected, where as 33.3% (22 of 66) aged 4 years or greater were infected. Intensity of infection increased with age in a linear fashion. The prevalence also increased with age approaching an asymptotic prevalence of 1 in the oldest animals. This implied there was minimal regulation of the parasite population by intermediate host immunity. The numbers of cysts in the donkeys were increasing at a rate of 0.48 cysts per year from 0.054 infections. The frequency distribution was highly aggregated, consistent with a negative binomial distribution indicating infection of donkeys was not random.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Ballsbridge, Ireland.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mukbel
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Torgerson
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Abo-Shehada
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D016010:Binomial Distribution; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018397:Equidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D007597:Jordan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D008168:Lung / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D013154:Spleen / Q000469:parasitology