Diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis, central Peruvian Highlands

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 260 - 266
• Main Authors: Gavidia, Cesar M, Gonzalez, Armando E, Zhang, Wenbao, McManus, Donald P, Lopera, Luis, Ninaquispe, Berenice, Garcia, Hector H, Rodríguez, Silvia, Verastegui, Manuela, Calderon, Carmen, Pan, William K Y, Gilman, Robert H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.02.2008; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Antibodies, Helminth - blood; Antigens, Helminth - immunology; Child, Preschool; Cystic echinococcosis; Diagnosis; Diagnostic imaging; diagnostic-test prevalence; Echinococcosis; Echinococcosis, Hepatic - diagnosis; Echinococcosis, Hepatic - diagnostic imaging; Echinococcosis, Hepatic - epidemiology; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary - diagnosis; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary - diagnostic imaging; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Echinococcus - immunology; Endemic Diseases; Female; Genetic aspects; Glutathione transferase; Humans; IBCF; Immunoblotting; Liver - diagnostic imaging; Lung - diagnostic imaging; Male; Measurement; Methods; Peru - epidemiology; Prevalence; Radiography; rEpC1-GST; Risk factors; Rural Population; Ultrasonography; ultrasound; X-ray; United States
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid1402.061101

We evaluated prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in a central Peruvian Highland district by using 4 diagnostic methods: ultrasonography for 949 persons, radiography for 829, and 2 serologic tests for 929 (2 immunoblot formats using bovine hydatid cyst fluid [IBCF] and recombinant EpC1 glutathione S-transferase [rEpC1-GST] antigens). For the IBCF and rEpC1-GST testing, prevalence of liver and pulmonary CE was 4.7% and 1.1% and seropositivity was 8.9% and 19.7%, respectively. Frequency of seropositive results for IBCF and rEpC1-GST testing was 35.7% and 16.7% (all hepatic cysts), 47.1% and 29.4% (hepatic calcifications excluded), and 22.2% and 33.3% (lung cysts), respectively. Weak immune response against lung cysts, calcified cysts, small cysts, and cysts in sites other than lung and liver might explain the poor performance of the serodiagnostic tests. We confirm that CE is highly endemic to Peru and emphasize the limited performance of available serologic assays in the field.