Risk Factors for Human Cystic Echinococcosis in Latvia

Abstract

Despite the importance of Echinococcus spp. in the Baltic States, little is known about the locally relevant risk factors for contracting the human disease they can cause. The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of selected potential risk factors in individuals diagnosed with cystic echinococcosis (CE) in 1999-2015 and matched controls. The diagnoses of the cases were based on combination of serology and diagnostic imaging, and they were not confirmed to species level of the causative parasite. A total of 46 cases and 46 control individuals were included in the study and answered questions covering a selection of potential risk factors for CE. Living in rural dwelling, owning dogs kept or roaming outdoors, owning dogs fed with viscera of livestock, having close contact with dogs or cats, owning livestock, home slaughtering, and having hunters in the family were significantly more common among the cases than the controls. The identified risk factors can inform planning preventive measures, but species/strain-level diagnoses of human echinococcosis would help in targeting the preventive measures more specifically.

Risk Factors Associated With Echinococcosis in the General Chinese Population: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

“…In China, there are a large number of pet dogs and stray dogs, and a previous meta-analysis found that the combined prevalence of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus in dogs was 7.3% ( 57 ). Furthermore, because dogs belonging to rural families are less likely to obtain nutritious food, their diets are supplemented by hunting small mammals, which are intermediate hosts of E. multilocularis ( 58 ), or by being fed livestock viscera, which supports the lifecycle of E. granulosus ( 59 ). The large number of infected dogs and close contact with dogs are the causes of the high rates of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus in humans.…”

Risk factors associated with echinococcosis in Chinese general population: a meta-analysis and systematic review

“…This will increase the risk of echinococcosis. On the other hand, many dog owners fed dogs the viscera of livestock, which supports the lifecycle of echinococcus [52]. Dogs, the main participants in transmission, play a key role in prevention and control.…”