Hydatidosis in the province of La Pampa, Argentina, 1998.

Echinococcus granulosus is the agent that causes the classical hydatidosis or cystic echinococcosis. The most spread cycle in South America is the sheep-dog cycle, and offers favorable conditions for the development of the parasite. As the province of La Pampa shows an endemic presence with notification of cases and infected dogs, the present work has the aim of contributing to the study of the distribution and prevalence of the disease in the district of Maracó, La Pampa, Argentina. Dogs of 36 farms that had ovines, were dosed with arecoline hydrobromide at a dose of 3.5 mg/kg. Dogs from 27 (75%) farms resulted positive to Tenia sp. and 3 (8.3%) to E. granulosus. Blood samples were taken to all the people living in all the inquired farm and were processed by the ELISA test for hydatidosis. A retrospective survey on cases of human hydatidosis attended in the Hospital of General Pico, head if the sanitary region, and in two private clinics was performed. Analysis of clinical records indicated 11 cases operated during the period 1996/1997 (annual incidence rate of 6.8 per 100,000 inhabitants). It is of public health interest to fulfill epidemiologic investigations in other districts of the Province of La Pampa with the aim of delimitating the endemic distribution within the province and also organizing surveillance systems on human hydatidosis.