title: Risk factors for alveolar echinococcosis in humans.
abstract: We conducted a case-control study to investigate risk factors for acquiring autochthonous alveolar echinococcosis in Germany. Forty cases and 120 controls matched by age and residence were interviewed. Patients were more likely than controls to have owned dogs that killed game (odds ratio [OR] = 18.0), lived in a farmhouse (OR = 6.4), owned dogs that roamed outdoors unattended (OR = 6.1), collected wood (OR = 4.7), been farmers (OR = 4.7), chewed grass (OR = 4.4), lived in a dwelling close to fields (OR = 3.0), gone into forests for vocational reasons (OR = 2.8), grown leaf or root vegetables (OR = 2.5), owned cats that roamed outdoors unattended (OR = 2.3), and eaten unwashed strawberries (OR = 2.2). Sixty-five percent of cases were attributable to farming. Measures that prevent accidental swallowing of possibly contaminated material during farming or adequate deworming of pet animals might reduce the risk for alveolar echinococcosis.
authors.affiliation: University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. echinoreg@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ammon
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kron
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sinn
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.forename: Lyle R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Wilhelm
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gaus
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors