CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES ›› 2025, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (1): 6-13.doi: 10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2025.01.002

• SPECIAL REPORT • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Progress of the national echinococcosis control programme in China, 2023

LIU Baixue()(), KUI Yan, XUE Chuizhao, WANG Xu, WANG Ying, WANG Liying, YANG Shijie, HAN Shuai*(), XU Xuenian()   

  1. National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research; National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases; Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Biology, National Health Commission; WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases; National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200025, China
  • Received:2024-11-14 Revised:2024-12-26 Online:2025-02-28 Published:2025-03-26
  • Contact: E-mail: hanshuai@nipd.chinacdc.cn
  • Supported by:
    Scientific and Research Project of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission(20214Y0207);Technology Innovation Support Program of the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention(LY2024012);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFC2300800);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFC2300804)

Abstract:

Objective To understand the progress, summarize the experiences, and investigate the problems of the national echinococcosis control programme in China in 2023, in order to provide insights for the formulation of echinococcosis control strategies and interventions. Methods All data pertaining to the national echinococcosis control programme across all endemic foci in China in 2023 were captured from the China Information Management System for Prevention and Control of Parasitic Diseases, which was operated by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and were used to create a database. The examinations and treatments of echinococcosis in humans, the prevalence of Echinococcus infections in sources of infections, and the prevalence of echinococcosis in intermediate hosts in echinococcosis-endemic areas of China were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2016. Results Echinococcosis was endemic in 29 415 villages across 3 580 townships from 370 counties (cities, districts, banners) in China by the end of 2023. A total of 25 362 echinococcosis cases were documented in China in 2023, with a prevalence of 0.05% (25 362/46 201 537), and there were 15 878 cases with cystic echinococcosis (62.61%), 7 604 cases with alveolar echinococcosis (29.98%), 300 cases with mixed infections (1.18%) and 1 580 cases with unclassified type (6.23%). There were 1 695 cases with newly diagnosed echinococcosis, including 1 373 cases with cystic echinococcosis (81.00%), 135 cases with alveolar echinococcosis (7.96%), 4 case with mixed infections (0.24%) and 135 cases with unclassified type (10.80%), and there were 177 cases under 12 years of age (10.44%), and 1 518 cases at ages of 12 years and older (89.56%). A total of 5 241 196 person-times received abdominal ultrasound scans for screening of echinococcosis in China in 2023, including 904 370 person-times at age of less than 12 years, and 4 336 826 person-times at ages of 12 years and older, and serological tests were performed among 12 426 person-times suspected of echinococcosis as revealed by ultrasound scans. The detection of echinococcosis by ultrasound screening was 0.02% (72/315 612) among residents under 12 years of age in 370 surveillance sites across China in 2023, including 27 cases with newly diagnosed echinococcosis (37.50%), and the detection of echinococcosis by ultrasound screening was 0.24% (693/288 437) among residents at ages of 12 years and older in surveillance sites with class Ⅰ and Ⅱ endemic counties (cities, districts, banners), including 80 cases with newly diagnosed echinococcosis (11.54%). A total of 17 629 cases with echinococcosis received drug treatment in China in 2023, and 1 920 cases received surgical treatment, including 1 350 cases with cystic echinococcosis (70.31%) and 410 cases with alveolar echinococcosis (21.35%). Follow-up results showed a cure among 2 706 cases with echinococcosis, a response to treatment among 18 729 cases, a failure in treatment among 4 860 cases, deaths among 480 cases (not deaths of echinococcosis), exclusion among 414 cases, loss to follow-up among 273 cases, a failure in follow-up among 138 cases (not reaching the time of follow-up), and migration to other places among 156 cases in China in 2023. A total of 2 189 335 dogs were recorded in echinococcosis-endemic townships in China in 2023, including 2 045 374 dogs registered for management, and dog deworming was performed in 34 561 villages, including deworming with chemotherapeutic agents given to 22 124 218 dog-times and 235 862 doses of chemotherapeutic agents given to wild canines. A total of 395 885 fecal samples were collected from domestic dogs in China in 2023 and 1 968 samples tested positive for Echinococcus coproantigen, with a positive rate of 0.50%, while 75 693 fecal samples were collected from wild canines, and 2 011 samples were tested positive for Echinococcus coproantigen, with a positive rate of 2.66%. A total of 171 102 slaughtered livestock were randomly detected for echinococcosis in China in 2023, and there were 1 533 livestock detected with echinococcosis, with a prevalence rate of 0.90%. In addition, a total of 47 527 wild rodents were examined for echinococcosis in China in 2023, and there were 229 rodents detected with echinococcosis, with a prevalence rate of 0.48%. Conclusion The epidemic status was almost controlled and tended to be stable in China in 2023; however, there are still multiple difficulties and challenges in the national echinococcosis control programme because of the complex factors affecting the transmission of echinococcosis. It is recommended to intensify continuously the echinococcosis control measures, improve the echinococcosis surveillance system, fully exert the role of comprehensive echinococcosis control intervention areas and regional joint prevention and control mechanisms, and promote the implementation of comprehensive echinococcosis control measures.

Key words: Echinococcosis, Progress of control, China

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