Cystic echinococcosis in Arad County, Romania

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2012 Apr;12(4):333-5. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2011.0756. Epub 2012 Jan 4.

Abstract

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a major parasitosis in Romania, a country where in the past at least one person from 45.5% of its localities underwent surgery for this disease. This survey aimed to provide new epidemiological and clinical data regarding human cases of CE in a western Romanian county. We have retrospectively investigated the medical records of the patients with CE hospitalized during the period of 2004-2010 in the surgical sections of Arad County. A total of 79 patients aged 5-88 years (mean age: 35.9±20.1 years) were diagnosed with CE during the study period. The average yearly incidence was 2.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and the majority of the patients (29.1%) were aged 0-19 years. Most of the adult cases (≥18 years) were people with limited formal education (laborers) (45.6%). The analysis for trend showed an overall decrease in the affected persons over the study period (R(2)=0.66, p=0.026). Hepatic localizations of the hydatid cysts predominated within the study group (73.4%). Only 21.5% of the diseased presented complications and the mean length of hospital stay was 16.2±10.9 days. Eosinophilia of at least 10% of the leukocyte value occurred in 14% of cases and leukocytosis was noticed in 24.1% of patients. Although the rates of CE cases have decreased in Arad County (Romania), this parasitic disease continues to be a concern for public health services and requires the implementation of more stringent prophylactic measures.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Animals
  • Blood Cell Count
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Echinococcosis, Hepatic / diagnosis
  • Echinococcosis, Hepatic / epidemiology*
  • Echinococcosis, Hepatic / parasitology
  • Echinococcosis, Hepatic / pathology*
  • Echinococcus / immunology
  • Echinococcus / isolation & purification*
  • Echinococcus / pathogenicity
  • Eosinophilia / parasitology
  • Eosinophilia / pathology
  • Female
  • Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data
  • Hospitalization / trends
  • Humans
  • Leukocytosis / parasitology
  • Leukocytosis / pathology
  • Linear Models
  • Male
  • Medical Records
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Romania / epidemiology
  • Seasons
  • Young Adult