[Natural and synanthropic foci of Echinococcus alveolaris infection (alveococcosis) in the northern areas of Kyrgyzstan].

The Republic of Kyrgyzstan, its northern area in particular, is referred to as one of the Echinococcus alveolaris infection endemic areas where the highest morbidity is registered. The synanthropic foci of Echinococcus alveolaris infection were first found in the At-Bashin District, Naryn Region. Twenty-three tracts in the Kara-Kuzhur ravine and 9 settlements in the Kochkor valley directly adjacent to the ravine were surveyed. Fifteen settlements and 4 tracts in the At-Bashin District, Narynsk Region, were also studied. The zoological studies revealed the natural foci of alveococcosis in the mid-mountainous areas of the Kara-Kuzhur ravine and the Kochkor valley just adjoining to the ravine. Hepatic alveococcal cysts were detected in the house mice caught in the settlements of the At-Bashin District, Naryn Region, which may suggest that in the areas of these settlements there may be synanthropic alveococcus areas where sheep flock and house (watch) dogs may be a final host. The retrospective analysis of morbidity indicated that among echinococcosis patients the proportion of those with alveococcosis increased from year to year (from 0.6% in 2002 to 15.6 within the first 6 months of 2006). A total of 1373 patients (females (57.2%) and males (42.8%)) were operated on at Bishkek surgical hospitals in the period of 2002 to the first half of 2006. Surgical treatment involved a palliative operation in most (55.2%) cases.

Human cystic echinococcosis in Kyrgystan: an epidemiological study.

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by Echinococcus granulosus, is an emerging disease in central Asia. This study examined official data on the incidence of CE between 1991 and 2000 and studied routine hospital records in the main surgical hospitals in Bishkek, Kyrgystan, between 1990 and 2000. In addition, a cross-sectional ultrasound study of a rural population was undertaken in northern Kyrgystan. The results of this study have indicated that the annual incidence of CE over the whole of Kyrgystan has increased from 5.4 cases per 100,000 in 1991 to 18 cases per 100,000 in 2000. Likewise, hospital admissions in Bishkek, due to CE, have increased from an estimated 21 cases in 1990 to approximately 127 and 124 in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Similarly, paediatric cases have increased from 2 in 1990 to 82 in 2000. There was no obvious association with occupation of affected adults although a disproportionate number of hospital cases were registered as unemployed compared to the general population. Whilst there was no gender difference in hospital admissions amongst children, men were more likely to undergo hospital treatment than women. Fifty percent of cysts were recorded as hepatic cysts with forty seven percent recorded as pulmonary cysts. Analysis of the data suggests that the likelihood of an affected patient having a hepatic cyst decreased with age. The results of the cross-sectional study indicated that 20 of 1486 subjects (1.35%) examined by ultrasound had an abdominal hydatid cyst. By extrapolating the ratio of pulmonary to hepatic cysts recorded in the hospital population and adjusting for age it is possible that as much as 3.4% of the rural population may have sub-clinical CE. Analysis of the possible risk factors in the cross-sectional study revealed that subjects who had CE were less likely to use well water as their water supply than non-infected subjects.