SOCIOECONOMIC AND BEHAVIOR RISK FACTORS OF HUMAN ALVEOLAR ECHINOCOCCOSIS IN TIBETAN COMMUNITIES IN SICHUAN, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

• Published in: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene Vol. 74; no. 5; pp. 856 - 862
• Main Authors: WANG, QIAN, QIU, JIAMIN, YANG, WEN, SCHANTZ, PETER M, RAOUL, FRANCIS, CRAIG, PHILIP S, GIRAUDOUX, PATRICK, VUITTON, DOMINIQUE A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrence, KS ASTMH 01.05.2006; Allen Press; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Reservoirs; Diseases caused by cestodes; Dogs; Echinococcoses; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary - etiology; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary - transmission; Echinococcus; Ecology, environment; Female; Foxes; Helminthic diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Life Sciences; Male; Medical sciences; Parasitic diseases; Risk Factors; Risk-Taking; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Tibet; Tibet - epidemiology; Tibet; Asia; China; China, People's Rep., Xizang, Tibetan Plateau; China, People's Rep., Sichuan Prov; China, People's Rep; Human; Socioeconomic status; Plathelmintha; Parasitosis; Cestoda; Helminthiasis; Epidemiology; Cestode disease; Infection; Echinococcus multilocularis; Risk factor; Helmintha; Tropical medicine; Behavior; Invertebrata; Echinococciasis
• ISSN: 0002-9637; 1476-1645
• DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2006.74.856

Data from two cross-sectional investigations on 7,138 subjects were used to explore risk factors of human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in Tibetan communities. The overall human AE prevalence was 3.1% (223 of 7,138), females had a higher prevalence (3.6%, 132 of 3,713) than males (2.7%, 91 of 3,425; P = 0.011), and herdsmen had a higher prevalence (5.2%, 154 of 2,955) than farmers (1.8%, 12 of 661; P < 0.001) and urban populations (2.1%, 49 of 2,360; P < 0.001). Age in all populations, number of dogs kept, fox skin ownership in farmers, not preventing flies from landing on food in herdsmen, using open streams as drinking water sources, and playing with dogs in urban populations were statistically significant risk factors. The results suggest that AE is highly endemic in the eastern Tibetan plateau, in Sichuan Province, the role of the dog is important for human infection, and other factors associated with environmental contamination may vary according to structure and practices of communities.