title: Threat of alveolar echinococcosis to public health--a challenge for Europe.
abstract: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a neglected 'malignant' parasitic disease. The European endemic area of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes is larger than previously anticipated, and there is new evidence that both fox populations and the prevalence of E. multilocularis have increased in many areas, indicating increased pressure for infection with E. multilocularis eggs in intermediate and accidental hosts, including humans. This may result in more human AE cases within the next decades. Current numbers of both immunocompetent and immunocompromised AE patients, and the anticipated future increase, call for scaling-up research to rapidly improve the development and implementation of prevention measures, early diagnosis, and curative treatment of human AE.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: bruno.gottstein@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gottstein
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stojkovic
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Prevention and Treatment of Human Echinococcosis and French National Reference Centre on Alveolar Echinococcosis, University of Franche-Comté and University Hospital, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: Dominique A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Vuitton
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Prevention and Treatment of Human Echinococcosis and French National Reference Centre on Alveolar Echinococcosis, University of Franche-Comté and University Hospital, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Millon
authors.affiliation: University of Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Audrone
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marcinkute
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deplazes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004443:Echinococcosis; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000502:physiology; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005589:Foxes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Echinococcus multilocularis; alveolar echinococcosis; management; prevention; therapy; zoonosis