Abstract
Background
Alveolar echinococcosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease causing a severe clinical condition and is known as the most deadly of all helminth infections. Moreover, this disease is also an increasing concern in Northern and Eastern Europe due to its spread in the wildlife animal host.
Case presentation
An asymptomatic 70-year-old woman from south-western Hungary was diagnosed with multiple liver lesions. Imaging techniques (ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging), serology (ELISA, indirect hemagglutination and Western blot), and conventional staining methods (hematoxylin–eosin and periodic acid–Schiff) were used for the detection of the disease. A histopathological re-evaluation of formalin-fixed paraffin block by immunohistochemical staining with the monoclonal antibody Em2G11 definitively confirmed the diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis.
Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed autochthonous case of human alveolar echinococcosis in Hungary. To what extent diagnostic difficulties may contribute to underestimate this zoonosis in Eastern Europe is unknown. Differential diagnosis with alveolar echinococcosis should be considered for patients with multiple, tumor-like cystic lesions of the liver, in countries where this parasite is emerging.
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Acknowledgments
The research received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under the Grant Agreement 602051 (Project HERACLES; http://www.Heracles-fp7.eu/). This work was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft to Peter Kern (Grant No. KE 282/8). The Em2G11 antibody was a kind gift from Prof. Peter Deplazes, Zurich, Switzerland. The funding sources had no involvement in the preparation, ideas, writing, interpretation, or the decision to submit this article. We are grateful to Simone Maria Cacciò for editing the manuscript.
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T. F. E. Barth and A. Casulli contributed equally to this article.
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Dezsényi, B., Strausz, T., Makrai, Z. et al. Autochthonous human alveolar echinococcosis in a Hungarian patient. Infection 45, 107–110 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-016-0918-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-016-0918-7