Seroprevalence of Human Hydatidosis Using ELISA Method in Qom Province, Central Iran

• Main Authors: A Rakhshanpour, M Fasihi Harandi, SS Moazezi, MT Rahimi, M Mohebali, GhH Mowlavi, Z Babaei, M Ariaeipour, Z Heidari, MB Rokni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2012-09-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Parasitology
• Subjects: Cystic Echinococcosis; ELISA; Epidemiology; Risk factor; Iran
• Online Access: https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/246

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in Qom Province, central Iran using ELISA test. Methods: Overall, 1564 serum samples (800 males and 764 females) were collected from selected subjects by randomized cluster sampling in 2011-2012. Sera were analyzed by ELISA test using AgB. Before sampling, a questionnaire was filled out for each case. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression for risk factors analysis. Results: Seropositivity was 1.6% (25 cases). Males (2.2%) showed significantly more positivity than females (0.9%) (P= 0.03). There was no significant association between CE seropositivity and age group, occupation, and region. Age group of 30-60 years encompassed the highest rate of positivity. The seropositivity of CE was 2.1% and 1.2% for urban and rural cases respectively. Binary logistic regression showed that males were 2.5 times at higher risk for infection than females. Conclusion: Although seroprevalence of CE is relatively low in Qom Province, yet due to the impor­tance of the disease, all preventive measures should be taken into consideration.