Seroprevalence of hydatid cyst and related risk factors in humans referred to urban health centers of Zahedan city, southeast Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis is one of the most common diseases between humans and livestock that humans are considered as an accidental host. This disease has spread globally, especially in the Mediterranean region, including Iran. To the best of our knowledge, no specific research has been conducted to investigate the epidemiological status of this disease in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. Therefore, this study was performed to achieve that aim for the first time. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the seroprevalence of hydatid cyst among patients (n = 773) referring to Zahedan health centers within 2019-2020. Zahedan health centers were classified into five geographical regions. The sampling process from each area was conducted using a simple randomized cluster method. The correlation between seropositivity and risk factors was evaluated using the Chi-square test. Results: The seroprevalence of hydatid cyst in Zahedan city was estimated at 3.6% (28 out of 773 samples). It was found that females were affected by this infection more than males, and the highest hydatid cyst seroprevalence rate was revealed in the age group of 31-50 years and the northeastern area of Zahedan. Although age, gender, vegetable consumption, soil contact had no significant influence on the risk of CE infection (P-value>0.05), the relationship of keeping dogs in the household and the presence of stray dogs in a living environment with seropositivity to CE was significant (P-value<0.05). Conclusion:The findings of this study showed that human hydatid cyst was common in Zahedan. Therefore, the implementation of preventive and hygienic principles, especially the presence of dogs in the household or stray dogs in the environment, should be a priority. Moreover, the various epidemiological aspects of this disease in Zahedan city should be taken into consideration.

Vigilancia serológica de la zoonosis parasitaria en 13 regiones de la sierra del Perú: Periodo 2016-2019

“…The increase in cystic echinococcosis and T. solium cysticercosis seropositivity with age found by our study is consistent with that found by previous studies 31 , 17 . The most affected occupational groups for these zoonoses were housewives and farmers; a higher cystic echinococcosis seropositivity in housewives has been reported by other studies 32 . Likewise, the housing material, source of water for human consumption, consumption of unboiled water and defecating outdoors presented a difference in the seropositivity of human fascioliasis, where poverty and deficient sanitary conditions allow the perpetuation of this disease; this has been found by previous studies 8 , 26 , 33 .…”

“…El incremento de la seropositividad de equinococosis quística y cisticercosis de T. solium con la edad encontrado en nuestro estudio es consecuente con lo hallado en otros estudios 31 , 17 . Los grupos ocupacionales más afectados para estas zoonosis fueron las amas de casa y los agropecuarios, una mayor seropositividad de equinococosis quística en amas de casa ha sido reportado en otros estudios 32 . Asimismo, el material de la vivienda, fuente de agua para consumo humano, consumo de agua no hervida y deposición en campo libre presentaron una diferencia en la seropositividad de fascioliasis humana, donde la pobreza y las condiciones sanitarias deficientes permiten la perpetuación de esta enfermedad, lo que ha sido encontrado en otros estudios 8 , 26 , 33 .…”

Serosurvey of Cystic Echinococcosis and Related Risk Factors for Infection in Fars Province, Southern Iran: A Population-Based Study

“…This rate is in line with the studies conducted in other areas of Iran, including Yasuj (7.2-8.1%) in the Zagros Mountains of southwestern Iran, Khuzestan in the south (13.78%), Lorestan, a province of western Iran (15.4%), and Kermanshah (8.02%) in the western part of the country [12,[14][15][16][17]. Moreover, the seroprevalence rate of CE reported in this study is lower than those reported from the hot regions of Iran, including Isfahan (1.1%), Qom (1.6%), Markazi (3.46%), and Kashan (3.05%) in Central Iran and cold area including East Azerbaijan (1.28%), Hamedan (0.4%), and North Khorasan (3.96%) [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Cystic Echinococcosis in the Early 2020s: A Review

“…Following Table 1 , where the pooled prevalence across Asia was 0.0177, numerous studies found substantially higher rates of CE in certain regions, such as rural Mongolia (2.0% to 13.1%) [ 88 ], the Fars province of Southern Iran (8.73%) [ 89 ], and rural Zahedan, Iran (4%) [ 90 ]. The same holds true for South America, where the pooled prevalence was 0.0342, but higher prevalence rates were found in parts of Potos Department, Bolivia (4,3%) [ 91 , 92 ], and La Rioja Province, Argentina [ 93 ], emphasizing the need for more effective surveillance and control methods worldwide.…”