Abstract

 

Echinococcus granulosus tapeworm lives as an intestinal parasite firmly attached to the mucosa of the small intestine

of dogs or occasionally, other carnivores. The larval stages cause the main forms of hydatid cyst in man. Hydatid

cyst is most common in countries involved in raising livestock. This study was performed in order to determine

the presence of hydatid cyst in Malatya and ages and sexuality. Three hundreds ninety two serum samples were

analyzed with Indirect Haemaglutination (IHA) and Indirect Fluorescein Antibody Test (IFAT) for the diagnosis

of hydatid cyst in the Parasitology Department between 1999-2002. Out of 392 serum samples 159 were positive.

A titer of over 1/36 was accepted as significant. Out of these 156 patients with hydatid cyst 118 (74.2%) were

female, and 41 (25.8%) were male. Their ages ranged from 20-39 years (33.3%). The final result is that hydatid

disease is an important public health problem in our region including Turkey.

Key Words: Hydatid Cyst, Malatya, IHAT, IFAT