EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ECHINOCOCCUS-GRANULOSUS INFECTION IN THE CENTRAL PERUVIAN ANDES

The prevalence of human, canine, and ovine echinococcosis was determin ed in an endemic area of the Peruvian Andes where control programmes h ave not been operational since 1980. Prevalence of infection in humans was determined using portable ultrasound, chest X-rays, and an enzyme -linked immuno-electrotransfer blot (EITB) assay. Canine and ovine ech inococcal prevalence was determined by microscopic stool examinations following arecoline purging for tapeworm detection and by examination of the viscera from slaughtered livestock animals, respectively. The p revalence among 407 humans surveyed was 9.1%. The frequency of disease in the liver, lung, and in both organs was 3.4%, 2.0%, and 0.2%, resp ectively Portable ultrasound or portable chest X-ray has shown that, c ompared to adults, children under 11 years had significantly higher se ropositive rates without evidence of hydatid disease (P < 0.05). Among the 104 dogs inspected for echinococcus after arecoline purging, 33 ( 32%) were positive for adult tapeworms, Among the 117 sheep slaughtere d at the local abattoir, 102 (87%) had hydatid cysts. The prevalence o f human hydatidosis in this endemic area of Peru is one of the highest in the world and nearly five times higher than previously reported in 1980. An increase in echinococcosis prevalence may result after prema ture cessation of control programmes.