Human Alveolar Echinococcosis After Fox Population Increase, Switzerland

Overview

Journal Emerg Infect Dis

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2007 Jun 8

PMID 17553227

Citations 102

Authors

Alexander Schweiger

Rudolf W Ammann

Daniel Candinas

Pierre-Alain Clavien

Johannes Eckert

Bruno Gottstein

Nerman Halkic

Beat Muellhaupt

Bettina Mareike Prinz

Juerg Reichen

Philip E Tarr

Paul R Torgerson

Peter Deplazes

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

We analyzed databases spanning 50 years, which included retrospective alveolar echinococcosis (AE) case finding studies and databases of the 3 major centers for treatment of AE in Switzerland. A total of 494 cases were recorded. Annual incidence of AE per 100,000 population increased from 0.12-0.15 during 1956-1992 and a mean of 0.10 during 1993-2000 to a mean of 0.26 during 2001-2005. Because the clinical stage of the disease did not change between observation periods, this increase cannot be explained by improved diagnosis. Swiss hunting statistics suggested that the fox population increased 4-fold from 1980 through 1995 and has persisted at these higher levels. Because the period between infection and development of clinical disease is long, the increase in the fox population and high Echinococcus multilocularis prevalence rates in foxes in rural and urban areas may have resulted in an emerging epidemic of AE 10-15 years later.

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