Objective: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease in humans and herbivorous animals caused by cestods of the genus Echinococcus. Humans are incidental hosts in the infection caused by Echinococcus granulosus. The aim of this study is to retrospectively investigate the direct microscopy and seropositivity of patients diagnosed with CE.
Materials and Methods: Between January 2017 and January 2021, cyst fluid and serum samples from 55 patients were sent to the Parasitology Laboratory from various units of the hospital. Cyst fluid samples were examined microscopically after condensation. Specimens showing hooks or protoscolex on microscopy have been reported as positive. Serum samples of the patients were investigated for cystic echinococcosis by indirect hemagglutination test (IHA).Those with a titer of ≥160 were considered positive.
Results: Twenty two (40%) cyst specimens with hooks or protoscolex on direct microscopy were reported as positive. Of the patients included in the study, 38 (69.1%) were male and 17 (30.9%) were female. Both direct microscopy and IHA test were studied from 30 patients. In terms of CE, the serum of 17 (56.6%) patients was found to be seropositive. In addition, both direct microscopy and IHA results of 8 (36.3%) patients were found to be positive.
Conclusion: Although CE is quite common in Turkey, it is highly neglected because it usually does not cause symptoms for years and is not reported frequently even though it is mandatory. For this reason, since the clinical findings of CE, which is still an important public health problem in our region, can be confused with other system pathologies, it would be useful to evaluate clinical, radiological, serological and biochemical findings together in the diagnosis.
Key words: Cystic echinococcosis, Echinococcus granulosus, Indirect Hemagglutination Test, protoscolex, direct microscopy
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