Hydatid Cyst Control:A glance at the experiences of other countries

Background and Aim:There are a number of successful examples of hydatid cyst control, achieved on a national or regional scale in different countries. The earliest successful program was that in Iceland initiated nearly 143 years ago when cystic hydatid disease was recognized as affecting approximately one of every six Icelanders. With a continuous campaign, by the 1950s hydatidosis was considered eradicated from Iceland. Prior to 1970, in Cyprus, hydatid cysts were routinely found in the lungs and livers of the majority of mature sheep, cattle, goats and pigs, and people believed that hydatid cysts were normal part of the anatomy of infected hosts. By performing a 15-year plan aiming to eradication of the disease, infection prevalence of dog and sheep reduced to zero and 0.11%, respectively and from 1981 to 1985, only a single case of human infection was diagnosed. Elimination of stray dogs was the key element in above remarkably successful program. During the first year of the campaign more than 18000 stray and ownerless dogs were killed. Conclusion:In Xinjiang Province of China, a control program during 1990-1995 resulted in a dramatic decrease in the infection rate in dogs (from 14.8% down to zero) and sheep (from 73/8% down to 1.4%). In this control program, 16000 dogs and herdsman dogs were given the drug praziquantel for five years. There are also other successful examples of hydatid cyst control in Spain (La Rioja), Australia (Tasmania), Chile, and NewZealand