Objective: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is particularly prevalent in rural areas where domestic animal breeding is common. We planned to investigate the CE among the 7-88 years old inhabitants of (n=209) four villages in the Aydın district, by a portable ultrasound scanner (US) and with serologic methods.
Methods: Participants were assessed by ultrasound and sera samples were tested for anti-E. granulosus antibodies by serological tests (ELISA and IHA). A questionnaire was given to the participants in order to assess their knowledge about the disease.
Results: Hepatic CE was detected in one case (0.47%) by US, while 24 (11.48%) and 28 (13.39%) cases were found to be seropositive for CE by ELISA and IHA, respectively. With both tests, in 9 participants (4.3%), parasite-specific antibodies were detected. According to questionnaire results, 84.22% of the participants were found to have no knowledge about the disease. Only 15.21% of the dog owners were giving anti-parasite drugs to their dogs.
Conclusion: This study is one of the small number of community-based studies about CE performed in Turkey, in which US was applied. Our results suggest that we need national control programs including a multi-sectorial collaboration to eradicate hydatidosis and effective actions to control cystic echinococcosis.