Dataset Information

Epidemiology and spatial distribution of Echinococcus granulosus in sheep and goats slaughtered in a hyperendemic European Mediterranean area.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a worldwide parasitic zoonosis caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato affecting livestock, particularly sheep and goats. However, often this parasitosis is underestimated. For this reason, this study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological features and spatial distribution of CE in sheep and goats slaughtered in a hyperendemic Mediterranean area.

Methods

A survey was conducted in the Basilicata region (southern Italy) from 2014 to 2019. A total of 1454 animals (1265 sheep and 189 goats) from 824 farms were examined for hydatid cyst detection by visual inspection, palpation and incision of target organs. All the CE cysts were counted and classified into five morphostructural types (unilocular, multiseptate, calcified, caseous and hyperlaminated). Molecular analysis was performed on 353 cysts. For spatial analysis, a kriging interpolation method was used to create risk maps, while clustering was assessed by Moran's I test.

Results

CE prevalence of 72.2% (595/824) and 58.4% (849/1454) was observed at the farm and animal levels, respectively, with higher values in sheep (62.9%) than goats (28.0%). The liver and lungs were the most frequently infected organs in both sheep and goats. Most of recovered cysts were of the calcified and multiseptate morphotypes. All the isolates were identified as E. granulosus sensu stricto (genotypes G1-G3). Spatial distribution showed a moderate clustering of positive animals.

Conclusion

The findings of this study can be used to better understand the eco-epidemiology of echinococcosis and to improve CE surveillance and prevention programs in regions highly endemic for CE.

SUBMITTER: Bosco A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8380321 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a neglected zoonosis caused by infection with the cestode Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. We carried out a systematic literature review on E. granulosus s.l. human and animal (cattle, sheep, dog) infection in European Mediterranean and Balkan countries in 2000-2019, to provide a picture of its recent epidemiology in this endemic area. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar and Open Grey databases were searched. Included cases were: i) for humans, data from hospital records and imaging studies; ii) for dogs, data from necropsy and coprological studies; iii) for ruminants, cases based on slaughter inspection. The NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) classification was used to categorize extracted data in epidemiological units, defined as data referred to one NUTS2 (basic region) in one year time. Data were then aggregated to NUTS1 level (major regions), calculating the average incidence value of included epidemiological units. For prevalence studies covering different epidemiological units, the pooled prevalence was estimated. Data were extracted from 79 publications, 25 on human infection (covering 437 epidemiological units), and 54 on animal infection (52 epidemiological units for cattle, 35 for sheep and 25 for dogs). At NUTS1 level, average annual incidence rates of human CE ranged from 0.10-7.74/100,000; pooled prevalence values ranged from 0.003-64.09% in cattle, 0.004-68.73% in sheep, and 0-31.86% in dogs. Southern and insular Italy, central Spain, Romania and Bulgaria reported the highest values. Bovine data showed a more similar pattern to human data compared to sheep and dogs. Limitation of evidence included the paucity of human prevalence studies, data heterogeneity, and the patchy geographical coverage, with lack of data especially for the Balkans. Our results confirm Italy, Spain, and Eastern Europe being the most affected areas, but data are extremely heterogeneous, geographical coverage very patchy, and human prevalence studies extremely scant. Results also highlight the notorious problem of underreporting of E. granulosus s.l. infection in both humans and animals.