Introduction: Hydatid disease is a major health problem in endemic countries. In Spain, this disease was notifiable from 1981 to 1996, although its incidence kept increasing until the end of this period. From 1997 on, hydatid disease is only surveyed by endemic autonomous regions. Thus, true incidences for human hydatid disease in Spain are currently unknown. In this study the cases recorded from 1996 to 2003 at the Hospital Universitario (Salamanca) which receives patients from all Salamanca province, were analyzed. Method. We obtained epidemiological and clinical data from patients at the University Hospital (reference hospital in Salamanca province) with registered CIE-10 codification 122.0 to 122.9 (hydatid disease), from January 1996 to December 2003, excluding those patients not arriving from Salamanca. We estimated the incidence of hydatid disesase in Salamanca province regarding the total population of the province.
Results: Our data show that the mean incidence (1996-2003) was 10,8/100.000 inhabitants, twice as many as previously reported by the notifiable diseases scheme. 30% of infected patients were younger than 45. In addition, during the last three years of study, several cases of paediatric hydatid disease were observed. The analysis of the origin of the cases showed a broad distribution throughout the whole province of Salamanca.
Conclusions: The real incidence of this disease seems to be higher than previously estimated. Importantly, the several cases of paediatric hydatid disease detected within the last two years of our study, suggest a possible re-emergence of hydatid disease.