Research of cystic echinococcus serology in people living in rural areas and dealing with animals with the immunochromatographic method: A small-scale cross-sectional study

Cystic echinococcus (CE) is a parasitic disease in humans and animals. Our study was performed with the aim of identifying the serology of hydatic cyst disease caused by the Echinococcus granulosus vector, causing a significant health problem in Eastern Anatolia and specifically in our province, among people living in rural areas and involved in animal husbandry. The population for this study comprised 75 volunteers living in rural regions of Erzurum practicing animal husbandry. Blood samples were stored at -40 °C until the time of the study. A survey form was completed to be able to identify the demographic data of participants and to reveal risk factors in terms of infectious vectors. After thawing blood samples at the time of the study, the immunochromatographic test procedure was implemented. The age distribution in the study group was 18 to 70 years, with a mean age of 46.8±15.97 years. The group comprised a total of 75 people, including 29 women (38.7%) and 46 men (61.3%). Of these 75 people with immunochromatographic screening performed, 72 were negative (96%) and 3 were weakly positive (0.5) (4%). It is notable that 4% CE seropositivity was found among individuals with no complaints. Linked to this seropositivity result, it is considered that creating a comprehensive CE screening program will be beneficial for individuals involved in animal husbandry.