RESUMEN
What is already known about this topic?: Echinococcosis is classified as a Class C infectious disease in China. It is endemic in 370 counties located in the agricultural and pastoral regions of western China. What is added by this report?: This report provides a comprehensive overview of the cases of echinococcosis reported in China in 2022. Following a thorough evaluation conducted by provincial CDCs, it was identified that 105 new cases were not reported through the National Notifiable Disease Reporting System. Furthermore, there were 1,051 cases that were reported among patients who had been previously diagnosed with echinococcosis. What are the implications for public health practice?: The reported cases of echinococcosis in non-endemic counties of provincial-level administrative divisions where the disease is endemic need to be given more attention, as there is a potential risk of it spreading within the non-endemic areas. Inadequate reporting practices by clinical medical institutions are hindering the subsequent investigations carried out by CDCs. It is important to implement enhanced health promotion efforts that focus on high-risk populations to address unhealthy lifestyles.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the larval stage of the complex Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.), is a zoonotic parasitic disease with a high social burden in China. E. ortleppi is a species (formerly genotype 5 of E. granulosus s.l.) with unique epidemic areas (tropical areas), transmission patterns (mainly cattle origin), and pathological characteristics (large and small hook lengths) compared to other species that cause CE. A 19-year-old female patient in an area with no history of echinococcosis in Guizhou Province, China, was diagnosed with E. ortleppi infection in 2019. This study is to understand the source of this human E. ortleppi infection. METHODS: We performed computer tomography (CT) scans, surgical operation, morphological sectioning, molecular diagnosis, phylogenetic analyses, and epidemiological investigation in Anshun City, Guizhou Province, China in 2019. RESULTS: The patient presented with intermittent distension and pain in the upper abdomen without other abnormal symptoms. Routine blood examination results were normal. However, abdominal CT revealed a fertile cyst with a diameter of approximately 8 cm, uniform density, and a clear boundary, but without an evident cyst wall in the right lobe of the liver. The cyst was fertile, and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the isolates represented a new E. ortleppi genus haplotype. A result of 10â14 years incubation period with indigenous infection was considered available for the case through the epidemiological survey. CONCLUSIONS: CE due to E. ortleppi infection can be confused with other diseases causing liver cysts, resulting in misdiagnosis. A transmission chain of E. ortleppi may exist or existed in the past in the previously considered non-endemic areas of echinococcosis in southwestern China.