Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, CREMOPAR, Naples 80137, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, CREMOPAR, Naples 80137, Italy.
Acta Trop. 2024 Jul;255:107240. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107240. Epub 2024 May 4.
Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, is a zoonotic parasitic disease that still represents a serious threat to human and animal health worldwide. The Mediterranean basin is recognized as one of the major hotspots of CE due to several factors, including the presence of diverse intermediate host species as well as socio-economic and cultural conditions of local communities. This study aims to take a closer look at epidemiological data on CE in the Mediterranean area and assess the knowledge attitudes and practices of shepherds towards this disease in four countries (Algeria, Greece, Italy and Tunisia), highly endemic for CE, with the final goal of identifying highly endemic risk areas and practices in use which might potentially allow the persistence of E. granulosus infection in these areas. To update the epidemiological scenario of CE in Mediterranean areas, a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature on CE prevalence data published during the 2017-2023 period was carried out and, through a geographical information system (GIS), a map displaying the current CE distribution in the Mediterranean area was generated. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted through in-depth interviews of the farmers to collect information on their management system as well as knowledge attitudes and practices towards CE. From the farmer-participatory survey some risky practices emerged including the non-regular deworming of dogs or the use of ineffective drugs or dosing, as well as the provision of uncooked animal viscera to dogs. Finally, lower levels of knowledge and awareness of the disease was observed among farmers from North Africa compared with those of European countries. In conclusion, the results obtained highlight that CE is still a very serious problem in Mediterranean areas and increased efforts are needed to promote awareness among farmers and to turn research results into policy in order to reduce the spread of this disease, according to the One Health perspective.
棘球蚴病（CE）是一种由细粒棘球绦虫引起的人畜共患寄生虫病，仍然对全球人类和动物健康构成严重威胁。地中海盆地由于多种中间宿主物种的存在以及当地社区的社会经济和文化条件等因素，被认为是 CE 的主要热点之一。本研究旨在更详细地了解地中海地区 CE 的流行病学数据，并评估牧羊人对该疾病的知识、态度和实践，这在四个高度流行 CE 的国家（阿尔及利亚、希腊、意大利和突尼斯）进行，最终目的是确定高流行风险地区和使用的实践，这些实践可能导致 E. granulosus 感染在这些地区持续存在。为了更新地中海地区 CE 的流行病学情况，对 2017-2023 年期间发表的关于 CE 流行率数据的同行评议文献进行了全面综述，并通过地理信息系统（GIS）生成了显示地中海地区当前 CE 分布的地图。此外，通过深入访谈农民进行了问卷调查，以收集有关其管理系统以及对 CE 的知识、态度和实践的信息。从农民参与的调查中发现了一些危险的做法，包括不定期给狗驱虫或使用无效药物或剂量，以及向狗提供未煮熟的动物内脏。最后，与欧洲国家相比，北非农民对该疾病的知识和认识水平较低。总之，研究结果表明，CE 在地中海地区仍然是一个非常严重的问题，需要加大努力，提高农民的意识，并将研究成果转化为政策，以根据“同一健康”的观点减少该疾病的传播。
