Human Cystic Echinococcosis in West Azerbaijan, Northwest Iran: A Retrospective Hospital Based Survey from 2000 To 2009

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hydatidosis in west Azerbaijan, Iran during a 10 year period (2000-2009). We surveyed medical records of infected patients with hydatid cyst who had been oper­ated in four hospitals in Urmia City, the capital of West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Several parame­ters were analyzed including age, sex, place of residency, hospitalization time, and the location of cysts. Of 294 cases, 53.3% were female and 46.7% were male with the mean age of 39.4 years (5–93). The average number of operated cysts per year was 29.4 (0.98/100,000 of population). The most affected age group was 20-30 year olds (18.7% of the cases). Cysts were localized in liver and lung in 57.5% and 21.8% of cases respectively and the average hospitalization time was 9 days. Single organ involvement was seen in the majority of patients and 28 (9.5%) cases had multiple involve­ment. The distribution of residence in patients showed 108 (36.9%) of them to have urban origin and 185 (63.1%) were rural residents. The lowest number (n=17) and the highest number of opera­tion (n= 48) recorded in 2000 and 2007, respectively. The prevalence of hydatidosis is high in this city and further studies are needed for evalua­tion of economic burden and risk factors for CE in this region.