Abstract
Hydatid disease (HD) is a zoonotic disease of humans and animals which is caused by infection with the larval stages of the taeniid cestodes of the genus Echinococcus. HD is endemic in many countries of the Middle East, including Jordan. The seroprevalence rate of HD in areas of elevated risk in Jordan has not previously been investigated using indirect haemagglutination (IHA) testing. In the present study, 512 blood samples were collected from recruited outpatients from an internal medicine clinic in Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital in Jordan. Each participant signed a consent form and completed a questionnaire. The presence of antibodies specific for E. granulosus antigens was detected using an IHA test. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software using the Chi-square test. In all, 4.1% of the study participants were seropositive for E. granulosus IgG antibodies. There was a significant correlation between unexplained weight loss among seropositive patients (P = 0.018). Seropositivity was significantly higher in patients who slaughtered sheep inside their houses (P = 0.023). HD seroprevalence did not correlate with gender (P = 0.433), age (P = 0.880), residency status (P = 0.938), or educational level (P = 0.808). The vast majority (75.2%) of participants reported no prior knowledge about HD, and 99.8% were not aware about the etiology of the disease.
Highlights
Hydatid disease (HD), or cystic echinococcosis (CE), is a worldwide zoonotic disease which is caused by infection with the larval stage of the cestode tapeworms of the species Echinococcus granulosus (Moro and Schantz, 2009)
The aim of this study focused on the assessment of the epidemiological seroprevalence of hydatid disease in high risk area “Al-Mafraq Governorate”
This study showed that 75.2% of participants reported no prior knowledge about HD, and 99.8% were not aware of the etiology of the disease
Summary
Hydatid disease (HD), or cystic echinococcosis (CE), is a worldwide zoonotic disease which is caused by infection with the larval stage of the cestode tapeworms of the species Echinococcus granulosus (Moro and Schantz, 2009). Hydatid disease affects over 1 million people globally (Higuita et al, 2016). Humans and other intermediate hosts acquire HD upon swallowing the eggs of the E. granulosus parasite in contaminated food or water (Moro and Schantz, 2009). Hydatid disease is usually asymptomatic, but it can present clinically as complicated unilocular cysts. Multiple risk factors are known to play important roles in HD prevalence and transmission, including dog ownership, illiteracy, farming and shepherd in, and residency in rural areas or with nomadic populations (Moro and Schantz, 2009; Higuita et al, 2016; Craig et al, 2003)
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