A distinct increase in fox populations, particularly in urban areas, has been observed in Europe. This is of particular concern in endemic regions of the small fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, the aetiological agent of human alveolar echinococcosis. Novel tools have facilitated the investigation of the ecology of urban foxes and have demonstrated the urban wildlife cycle of E. multiloc...

An immunochromatographic test (ICT) for the rapid detection of antibodies to Echinococcus multilocularis was developed. The ICT showed a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 95.4%. High degrees of agreement were observed between the ICT and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (kappa = 0.93) and between the ICT and immunoblot analysis (kappa = 0.97). It is expected that the ICT developed in ...

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a chronic and serious, even lethal, parasitic infection caused by the helminth Echinococcus multilocularis (EM). AE is an endemic disease in Turkey and it is particularly common in people living in the eastern Anatolia Region. In addition to various clinical presentations, symptoms which lead to diagnosis, however, are usually associated with the metastatic lesio...

Several studies have demonstrated the important role of Toll-like receptors in various parasitic infections. This study aims to explore expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and related cytokines in patients with human cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE). 78 subjects including AE group (N = 28), CE group (N = 22), and healthy controls (HC, N = 28) were enrolled in thi...

Correction: Vol. 19, No. 7 The article Human Alveolar Echinococcosis in Kyrgyzstan (J. Usubalieva et al.) incorrectly labeled the y-axis of Figure 1. The corrected figure and caption are reproduced here, and the article has been corrected online (wwwnc.cdc.gov/ EID/article/19/7/12-1405_ article.htm). Figure 1. Number of alveoloar echinococcosis cases reported in Kyrgyzstan, by patient sex, 1995...

In the Baltic countries, the two zoonotic diseases, alveolar echinococcosis (AE) caused by Echinococcus multilocularis, and cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus, are of increasing public health concern. Observations from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania indicate that the distribution of both parasites is wider in the Baltics than previously expected. In this paper, we revie...

Correction: Vol. 19, No. 7 The article Human Alveolar Echinococcosis in Kyrgyzstan (J. Usubalieva et al.) incorrectly labeled the y-axis of Figure 1. The corrected figure and caption are reproduced here, and the article has been corrected online (wwwnc.cdc.gov/ EID/article/19/7/12-1405_ article.htm). Figure 1. Number of alveoloar echinococcosis cases reported in Kyrgyzstan, by patient sex, 1995...

A novel species-specific anti-beaver-IgG-alkaline-phosphatase conjugate was synthesized for the development of a new serological test for echinococcosis in beavers. Two different ELISAs conventionally used for human Echinococcus multilocularis serology (Em18-ELISA and Em2-ELISA) yielded diagnostic sensitivities of 0% and 46%, respectively. In contrast, the subsequently developed immunoblotting ...

A 14-year-old child came to our pediatric clinic complaining of intermittent abdominal pain. Liver function tests showed deterioration. Multidetector computed tomography was performed, which revealed a non-enhanced solid mass. Computed tomography discovered calcifications in the mass (Fig. 1). With a pathology specimen, the mass was diagnosed as alveolar echinococcosis. The patient is currently...

Echinococcosis is one of the world's most geographically widespread parasitic zoonoses, with transmission occurring in tropical, temperate and arctic biomes. Most human infections are due to Echinococcus granulosus transmitted between domestic dogs and livestock, but this cosmopolitan species also cycles between wild carnivores (principally canids) and wild ungulates. The other species with sig...