Hidatidosis

Abstract:

Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) is an endemo-epidemic disease in the Rio Negro Province,
República Argentina. Due to the number of cases, the length of hospital stays after surgery and its
associated mortality, it is a serious public health problem that generates high costs for the health
system. Oriented towards its control, primary prevention activities have been carried out since
1980, based on the deworming of dogs and the vaccination of lambs; secondary prevention has
consisted in the actively search for cases through serological or ultrasonographic screening; and
tertiary prevention has been based on timely treatment, either by surgery or by medical treatment
with albendazole. All these prevention activities have been carried out under the concept and
strategies of the “One Health” model, through both inter-institutional and interdisciplinary work, as
well as with the support, commitment and critical participation of the community. As a result, an
important drop has been observed in the prevalence of CE in humans and in its lethality (0.5% in
1997–2020, no deaths in the last two years); moreover, an important decrease has been observed in
costs to the health system, due to the reduction of hospitalizations and the number of surgeries.