A retrospective study of human cystic echinococcosis in Jordan

Some 676 human cases of cystic echinococcosis (CE) were recorded from 18 major hospitals in Jordan from January 1985 to October 1993. The number and origins of the cases indicate that CE is an endemic and widespread disease in Jordan. Operations for the extraction of hydatid cysts represented 0.1% of all surgical operations carried out in the surveyed hospitals during the study period (excluding Caesarean sections). The mean annual surgical incidence of CE was estimated to be 0.5-8.2 per 100,000 population, depending on the governorate studied, with an overall mean of 2.9 per 100,000. Incidence was higher in the more rural eastern and south-western governorates than elsewhere, and more cases fell in the 21-30-year age group than in any other. Many more of the cases were female than male (443 v. 233; P < 0.001). The liver was the most common organ infected (54.5% of cases), followed by the lungs (12.1%), and multiple hydatidosis usually involved the liver.