Echinococcosis multilocularis in south-eastern Anatolia, Turkey.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the human prevalence, elucidate possible risk factors and present other epidemiological parameters of human alveolar echinococcosis in the south-eastern region of Turkey. DESIGN A retrospective study. SETTINGS South-eastern region (Anatolia) of Turkey by two medical centres: Dicle University Medical Faculty in Diyarbakir and Harran University Medical Faculty in Urfa. SUBJECTS Forty seven cases of human alveolar echinococcosis were presented between the period of 1980 and 2000. METHODS For the majority of our patients, personal anamnestic, clinical data and addresses were available from their files, and we visited their villages to investigate the risk factors for human alveolar echinococcosis. Epidemiological parameters were evaluated. RESULTS The 47 cases consisted of 18 (38.3%) males and 29 (61.7%) females. The average age was 34.6 years. In all cases, lesions occurred in the liver. No village or district had more than one case. The majority of patients (73.8%) were farmers and 33 had a history of dog ownership. CONCLUSION This region has a higher incidence than Turkey as a whole, and domestic dogs and free-ranging dogs seem to be the main source of infection.