Public health significance of echinococcosis

Echinococcosis is a cosmopolitan zoonosis caused by infection with adult larval form of Echinococcus granulosus, a cause of unilocular echinococcosis (hydatidosis), or, less often, Echinococcus multilocularis, a cause of multilocular echinococcosis (alveolar echinococcosis). Humans act as intermediate hosts and are infected through direct contact with definitive hosts, namely parasite-infested dogs. Echinococcosis is a disease that is prevalent throughout the world, including Croatia. As such it is categorized as a disease of great significance for public health. A timely and valid laboratory diagnostic testing to determine its seroprevalence is therefore of clinical and epidemiological importance in order to successfully monitor, control and treat the disease. Although sometimes limited, serological testing is increasingly used and ought to be accepted and implemented should the disease be suspected. In view of the above, within this study we have analysed IgG subclass antibodies of 599 patient serum samples by using the ELISA assay during 2015 to determine the presence of Echinococcus granulosus. Obtained results indicated that 6 % of samples were positive, 11 % borderline and 83 % negative. All ELISA reactive samples were further confirmed using the Western blot (WB) assay. By applying these procedures we have established that 14/599 samples were positive and calculated the prevalence of 2.3 % in general population (4.25 % among male and 4.8 % among female patients). The analysis of results according to age showed that the majority of tested patients and the highest seroprevalence determined by WB procedure for general population pertained to the age group of 61 years and older (4.1 %).