Prevalenza di anticorpi anti-echinococco in popolazione rurale dell’Italia Meridionale

The Authors consider the remarkable discrepance between official data and real frequency in ecliinococcosis epidemiology, so they carried out a seroepidemiological rescarch for pointing out the prevalence of antibodies against Echinococcus granulosus among rural population living in five Regions of Southern Italy. 1515 sera from healthy subjects were tested by the use of EAI and FC techniques. The sample was stratified by age and sex. Rural residence was ascertained on the ground of place of origin and type of occupation. The 1515 collected sera were examined using EAI test: those with a titre of 1:32 or higher were confirmed by FC test (positive if > 1:8). 68 samples (4.49% resulted positive to the first method and 40 of them were confirmed by FC (2 .68%). Using these methods, the prevalence of positivity for antibodies against Echinococcus granulosus in the examined population was 2.68%. The results of tests are analyzed in relation to sex, age and place of origin. The number of positive subjects was higher among females (24) than males (16): the difference was not statistically significant. An increase of prevalence of positivity was observed with the increasing of age, though among subjects aged 60 and over a light decrease was observed: nevertheless also for variable « age » the observed differences were not statistically significant. The analysis of provenance of examined subjects showed no significant differences, but higher percentages of positivity were observed among residents in Campania Region (3.43%) than in other Regions of Southern Italy (between 2.93 and 2.15%). The Authors compare the results of the study with other contributions regarding other Italian Regions. They also analyzed the results underlineating the substantial importance of echinococcosis in Southern Italy and the need to improve epidemiological and preventive interventions, especially in rural areas, also in consideration of the diffusion of the problem and of its extension to both sexes, to all classes of age and to all the Regions of Southern Italy. The Authors also underlineate the satisfactory results of the diagnostic method they utilized in this study, integrating EAI with FC test, to increase the speeificity of the diagnosis of this infection.