A cross sectional study was carried out to assess the prevalence, economic and public health significance of echinococcosis/hydatidosis in Tigray Regional State, north Ethiopia. Out of 18 stray dogs euthanized and examined, three of them were found harboring the adult parasite Echinococcus granulosus in their small intestine. From 5,194 cattle examined at slaughter houses, 1146 (22.1%) of them were found harboring hydatid cyst. The majority of the infected cattle had hydatid cyst in both liver and lungs. The hydatid cyst infection in the lung, liver, kidney, heart and spleen were found to be 13%, 8.1%, 0.5%, 0.4%, and 0.1%, respectively. The estimated total annual loss from bovine hydatidosis due to offal condemnation (lungs and liver) and carcass weight loss was 25,608 Ethiopian (Eth.) Birr. The present human hydatidosis survey conducted in all six zonal hospitals of Tigray Regional State disclosed one active clinical case in Mekelle hospital during the study period. While, the retrospective data analyses of the six zonal hospitals indicated that eight cases of human hydatidosis were diagnosed since 2000. Thus echinococcosis/hydatidosis is considerably prevalent disease in cattle and it is a serious public health concern in Tigray region.
Optic neuritis usually presents with painful monocular vision loss in younger patients. Spontaneous improvement in vision occurs over weeks, and treatment with high-dose intravenous steroids increases the rate but not extent of visual recovery. Risk of progression to multiple sclerosis (MS) is largely dictated by baseline brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Those with a normal MRI finding at the time of optic neuritis diagnosis have a lower rate of progression to multiple sclerosis than those with T2 hyperintense white matter lesions on MRI. High-dose intravenous steroids should be considered acutely in optic neuritis, and disease-modifying therapy should be considered in patients at high risk of MS as defined by MRI.
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