European echinococcosis registry: human alveolar echinococcosis, Europe, 1982-2000.
Surveillance for alveolar echinococcosis in central Europe was initiated in 1998. On a voluntary basis, 559 patients were reported to the registry. Most cases originated from rural communities in regions from eastern France to western Austria; single cases were reported far away from the disease-"endemic" zone throughout central Europe. Of 210 patients, 61.4% were involved in vocational or part-time farming, gardening, forestry, or hunting. Patients were diagnosed at a mean age of 52.5 years; 78% had symptoms. Alveolar echinococcosis primarily manifested as a liver disease. Of the 559 patients, 190 (34%) were already affected by spread of the parasitic larval tissue. Of 408 (73%) patients alive in 2000, 4.9% were cured. The increasing prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in rural and urban areas of central Europe and the occurrence of cases outside the alveolar echinococcosis-endemic regions suggest that this disease deserves increased attention.
Kern
Petra
P
University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. echinoreg@medizin.uni-ulm.de
Bardonnet
Karine
K
Renner
Elisabeth
E
Auer
Herbert
H
Pawlowski
Zbigniew
Z
Ammann
Rudolf W
RW
Vuitton
Dominique A
DA
Kern
Peter
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005589:Foxes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries