Author(s):
In addition to developing in extensive portions of Asia and North America, alveolar echinococcosis (AE), which is brought on by the larval (metacestode) stage of Echinococcus multilocularis, is one of the most dangerous parasitic zoonoses in Central and Eastern Europe. The domestic cat, raccoon dog, and domestic dog, to a much lesser extent, all constitute possible definitive hosts for E. multilocularis in Europe, but the red fox serves as the disease's primary definitive host there. Voles dominate the list of E. multilocularis' natural intermediate hosts. Numerous species of primates, pigs, dogs, and humans are among the many unintended hosts that can get infected by ingesting viable eggs. However, human AE is a fairly uncommon illness in Europe, although rates have recently increased. , whereas foxes have a widespread illness with significant prevalences that can reach up to 70% in some locations. Foxes that are infected generally provide a zoonotic danger, which may be especially important in urban environments. In addition, there are worries that the presumed geographic distribution of the parasite, as determined by infections in its primary hosts, and the high prevalences in some areas, may increase the chance for humans to contract AE. Therefore, monitoring and surveillance operations have been started in a few European nations. In recent years, a number of diagnostic approaches have been created and validated, using traditional worm detection by microscopy as well as immunological (ELISA for coproantigen detection) and molecular assays (copro-DNA detection by PCR). However, it is urgently necessary to define minimal standards and coordinated methods for these tasks to enable accurate evaluation of the epidemiological condition in Europe and comparable results from various nations.
