Institute of International Health, Global Health Center, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie and Humboldt University Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, 13353, Berlin, Germany.
Tirana/General & Digestive Surgery Department, University of Medicine, No. 3. Dibrës Str. 370, Tirana, Albania.
Parasitol Res. 2023 Aug;122(8):1811-1818. doi: 10.1007/s00436-023-07878-4. Epub 2023 Jun 5.
Echinococcosis is a life-threatening neglected zoonotic disease. Cystic echinococcosis (CE) due to Echinococcus (E.) granulosus usually involves livestock and dogs; alveolar echinococcosis (AE) due to E. multilocularis involves rodents and canines such as foxes and dogs. Human hosts are infected accidentally via hand to mouth and/or foodborne/waterborne pathways. Albania is deemed to be endemic for cystic echinococcosis (CE), but there is a scarcity of data to confirm this. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Google Scholar, and in other medical sources. Because of the scarcity of existing information, data confirming CE cases were reviewed from the medical hospital records of Albania's largest Hospital, the Mother Teresa University Hospital (UHCMT) Tirana, and from a large private laboratory in Tirana (Pegasus laboratory). A total of eight eligible publications on 540 CE patients were found. Three hundred forty seven additional cases hospitalized in UHCMT from 2011 to 2020 were confirmed, as well as 36 laboratory cases and 10 Albanian cases notified in Germany. Taking all cases into account and considering 162 overlapping cases, 771 cases were documented from 2011 to 2020. The only case reported as AE was most likely a multi-organic CE. Surgery was the most frequent therapy approach used (84.7%). Autochthonous human CE seems to be widespread, and transmission is ongoing in Albania. CE patients in Albania undergo surgery more frequently compared with CE cases in other European countries. In order to establish a realistic estimate of prevalence and incidence of CE in Albania, mandatory notification should be reinforced. Stage-specific therapy can be used in CE to reduce therapy cost and diminish mortality by avoiding surgical overtreatment.
包虫病是一种危及生命的被忽视的人畜共患疾病。由细粒棘球绦虫引起的囊型包虫病（CE）通常涉及家畜和犬；由多房棘球绦虫引起的泡型包虫病（AE）则涉及啮齿动物和狐狸、犬等犬科动物。人类宿主通过手到口和/或食源性/水源性途径意外感染。阿尔巴尼亚被认为是囊型包虫病（CE）的流行地区，但缺乏数据来证实这一点。在 PubMed、Google Scholar 和其他医学资源中进行了系统的文献检索。由于现有信息稀缺，对阿尔巴尼亚最大的医院特蕾莎修女大学医院（UHCMT）地拉那和地拉那的一家大型私人实验室 Pegasus 实验室的医疗记录中确认的 CE 病例数据进行了审查。共发现了 8 篇关于 540 例 CE 患者的合格出版物。还确认了 2011 年至 2020 年 UHCMT 住院的 347 例额外病例，以及 36 例实验室病例和 10 例在德国报告的病例。考虑到所有病例，并考虑到 162 例重叠病例，从 2011 年至 2020 年共记录了 771 例病例。唯一报告的 AE 病例很可能是多器官 CE。手术是最常用的治疗方法（84.7%）。土生土长的人类 CE 似乎广泛存在，并且在阿尔巴尼亚仍在传播。与其他欧洲国家的 CE 病例相比，阿尔巴尼亚的 CE 患者更频繁地接受手术治疗。为了对阿尔巴尼亚的 CE 患病率和发病率进行现实估计，应加强强制性报告。CE 可以采用分期治疗，以减少治疗成本并通过避免过度手术治疗来降低死亡率。
