Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026
10:57
Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
24.2K
Prioritizing interventions for echinococcosis prevention in China: a population attributable fraction analysis
Shuaiming Xu1, Quzhen Danzeng2, Bing Guo1,3
1West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China.
The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific
|December 10, 2025
Summary
Human echinococcosis in China can be reduced by improving drinking water safety and dog management. Interventions should prioritize high-incidence regions like Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Sichuan for maximum public health impact.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- One Health
Background:
- Human echinococcosis remains a significant public health issue in China despite control efforts.
- Identifying modifiable risk factors is crucial for targeted individual-level interventions.
- This study quantifies potential health gains from interventions on risk factors to guide control strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the potential health gains from hypothetical interventions on modifiable risk factors for human echinococcosis in China.
- To inform effective public health control strategies by identifying priority targets for intervention.
- To estimate the preventable burden of echinococcosis attributable to modifiable risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Data on modifiable risk factors and echinococcosis incidence (2007-2020) were collected and aggregated.
- A Bayesian hierarchical model was used to pool effect estimates for risk factors and echinococcosis subtypes (cystic echinococcosis [CE] and alveolar echinococcosis [AE]).
- Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated to estimate the preventable burden of echinococcosis cases.
Main Results:
- Twelve risk factors were identified, with PAFs ranging from 2.2% to 41.2%.
- Surface water for drinking (41.2%) and stray dogs (34.9%) had the highest PAFs, contributing to 1437 and 1216 preventable annual cases, respectively.
- Simultaneous elimination of stray dogs and unsafe drinking water sources showed the highest potential impact, particularly in Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Sichuan provinces.
Conclusions:
- Interventions focusing on drinking water safety and responsible dog management can significantly reduce echinococcosis incidence in China.
- Public health initiatives should prioritize high-prevalence regions like Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, and Sichuan Province to maximize effectiveness.
- Targeting these key risk factors and regions offers a viable strategy for controlling human echinococcosis.
Keywords:
Bayesian hierarchical modelEchinococcosisModifiable risk factorsNeglected tropical diseasesParasitic infectionsPopulation attributable fractionPreventable disease burdenPublic health interventionMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:28Amebiasis
Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. Though a significant proportion of infections remain asymptomatic, approximately 50 million individuals annually are estimated to present with clinical disease, resulting in up to 100,000 deaths globally. The disease burden is disproportionately high in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as parts of India, Africa, Mexico, and Latin America.Etiology and TransmissionThe infective...