Prevalence of human hydatid disease in southern Sudan

A total of 3443 people were screened by ultrasound to determine the prevalence of hydatid disease in southern Sudan. Hydatid cysts were found in 16 (0.5%) of the people screened. Thirteen of the 16 hydatid cases were from among the Bouya people who showed an overall hydatid prevalence of 2% by ultrasound. All ultra-sound positive cases were further confirmed by dot-blot ELISA. At the time of the survey, Chukudum Hospital had five cases with histories and clinical manifestations consistent with hydatidosis. However, on scan examination only three of them were confirmed to be cases of hydatid disease. The proportion of hydatid infected women in south-western Sudan was almost twice that of men (M:F ratio of 1:1.7), with most of those infected being women in the child-bearing age bracket. Dogs are common in this area and they could be the main reservoirs of Echinococcus granulosus in the Sudan. Due to the low prevalence of hydatid in humans in the study area, and the dispersed nature of the population, it is recommended that hydatid control measures for south-western Sudan include an educational component coupled with treatment of the infected people.