Echinococcus multilocularis infection in animals

Abstract

General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms carnivore species can maintain the lifecycle in the absence of red fox, and this makes it to most relevant target species for surveillance. Movement of infected definitive hosts is an important introduction pathway. The knowledge on the geographical distribution of the environmental factors for the persistence of the lifecycle is scarce. In areas where no suitable autochthonous wild canid hosts and no highly suitable intermediate hosts are present, e.g. Malta, establishment of the EM cycle is considered close to impossible. Such countries do not need to carry out surveillance on domestic dogs to substantiate absence of EM in the relevant animal population. Reconsideration of some aspects of the current legislation regarding surveillance activities might be relevant; for example the identification of epidemiologically relevant units should be independent from political borders. Studies to improve the knowledge on epidemiological risk factors should be encouraged to enable risk-based sampling. Echinococcus notification should always be done at species level in order to discriminate between the more severe alveolar echinococcosis and the cystic echinococcosis. Praziquantel is the substance of choice for the treatment of dogs. However, the treatment window should be reconsidered to reduce the risk of re-infection: a general rule is to treat as close as possible to entry into a non-infected country. There is a lack of standardization of the diagnostic methods between laboratories. The diagnostic sensitivity of the tests should be established in accordance to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) standards for validation. For the time being, the diagnostic sensitivity can be set conservatively to 78%. SCIENTIFIC OPINION © European Food Safety Authority, 2015Keywords: Echinococcus multilocularis, echinococcosis, hosts, risk factors, diagnosis, surveillance, Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.The EFSA Journal is a publication of the European Food Safety Authority, an agency of the European Union. E. multilocularis infections in animalswww.efsa.europa.eu/efsajournal 3 EFSA Journal 2015;13(15):4373 SummaryHuman alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by the larval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. It is amongst one of the most dangerous zoonoses. Naturally the parasite transmits between foxes or dogs and small mammals whilst humans are aberrant intermediate hosts.In rodents, the larval mass proliferates rapidly by exogenous budding of germinative tissue and produces an alveolar-like pattern of microvesicles filled with protoscolices. In humans, the larval mass resembles a malignancy in appearance and behavior, because it proliferates indefinitely by exogenous budding and invades the surrounding tissues (Moro et al., 2008). Transmission of A...

Annual assessment of Echinococcus multilocularis surveillance reports submitted in 2018 in the context of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011

“…At This report follows previous annual reports (EFSA, 2013(EFSA, , 2014(EFSA, , 2015(EFSA, , 2016(EFSA, , 2017 presented by EFSA to the European Commission which aim to analyse and assess the sampling strategy, data collection and detection methods used by these five countries in the context of Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011 in their respective E. multilocularis (pathogen-specific) surveillance programmes, and verify that the requirements laid down in this regulation are being complied with (EFSA AHAW Panel, 2015).…”

“…In order to guarantee the prevention of introduction of E. multilocularis through dogs (noncommercial movements only) into those European territories of the Member states, or parts thereof, that (i) have a lack of presence of the parasite in definitive host or (ii) have implemented an eradication (Oksanen et al, 2016) of countries in which E. multilocularis has been reported in foxes (see also EFSA AHAW panel, 2015;ECDC, 2016;Lalo sevi c et al, 2016) programme of the parasite in wild definitive hosts within a defined scale, 2 the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011 'as regards preventive health measures for the control of E. multilocularis in dogs'. On the one hand, this Regulation gives to those Member States (or parts thereof) the right to apply preventive health measures (see in Article 7) to dogs intended for non-commercial movements prior to their introduction.…”

Support for targeted sampling of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) feces in Sweden: a method to improve the probability of finding Echinococcus multilocularis

“…Particularly for countries striving to document freedom from E. multilocularis (e.g. mainland Norway, Finland, Ireland and the UK), risk-based sampling could be expected to provide a more efficient method for detecting the parasite and allow for optimization of limited surveillance resources [16]. …”

“…Such criteria are not easily defined for E. multilocularis , which has a complex life-cycle in wildlife influenced by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Despite this, the use of risk-based sampling for E. multilocularis to document freedom from disease has been suggested in a recent scientific opinion by EFSA [16]. In this study, the term targeted sampling was used instead, as risk factors used could not be clearly defined [14].…”

Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes and raccoon dogs: an increasing concern for Baltic countries

“…The use of latrines renders the raccoon dog epidemiologically less important compared to red foxes for transmission and perpetuation of E. multilocularis life-cycle. Moreover, the raccoon dog, as well as other wild canids such as the golden jackal ( Canis aureus ) and the wolf ( Canis lupus ), can act as definitive hosts, but there is no evidence that they can maintain the life-cycle of the parasite in the absence of the red fox [40]. Meanwhile, studies from western Germany [34] and Estonia [35] indicate an increasing importance of the raccoon dog as a definitive host, particularly because they are becoming widespread and have well-established populations, and share the same areas with foxes.…”