Human hydatidosis in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil): an estimate of its impact upon public health in the country

Abstract

By means of data collected through personal visits to hospitals and clinics in the 24 counties of Rio Grande do Sul held to be endemic for Echinococcus granulosus an assessment of the importance of this disease is attempted. (Barring new developments, these data reflect the situation in the country as a whole). The surgical incidence for 1990 was found to be 5.5 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, far less than the rates for the neighboring countries. As concerns prevalence, in the absence of adequate population surveys the authors were forced to rely upon radiologic and echographic evidence available at various clinics throughout the area. The provisional prevalence rate thus adopted is 0.8 per thousand for lung cysts and 5.5 per thousand for abdominal cysts. According to the testimony of a group of local senior surgeons it appears that human hydatidosis is declining in Brazil. Such a conclusion gains further credibility on examination of the age distribution in the recent case series, as well as current investigations in Veterinary Medicine.