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Abstract: A survey of cystic echinococcosis in livestock was conducted from May 2001 to July 2003 in central, western and southern Sudan. Hydatid cysts were present in 59% (466/779) of camels, 6% (299/4893) of cattle, 11% (1180/10,422) of sheep and 2% (106/5565) of goats, with little variation among different geographical areas. 532 of these cysts were examined by PCR and could be overwhelmingly (98.7%) allocated to Echinococcus canadensis G6/7 (all of 215 cysts from camels, 112 of 114 cysts from cattle, 134 of 138 cysts from sheep, and all of 65 cysts from goats); the genotype G6 was identified by sequencing 13 of these isolates. Only 2 cysts from cattle belonged to Echinococcus ortleppi. The mean number of cysts per infected animal was much higher in camels (5.1) than in the other species (1.0–1.3), and cyst fertility was higher in camels and cattle (74% and 77%) than in goats and sheep (31% and 19%). Fertile cysts from five human patients from hospitals in Khartoum and Juba belonged to E. canadensis (G6). This study confirms the predominance of the ‘camel strain’ in Sudan and the infectivity of this strain for humans. This is the first genetic characterization of human CE in Sudan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New information was collected on cystic echinococcosis in livestock (camels, cattle and sheep) and humans in the central region of Sudan. The livestock data were collected in abattoir-based surveys in the towns of Omdurman, Tamboul and Wad Madani, between 1998 and 2001, and covered a total of 8205 animals. The highest prevalence of infection was found in the camels (44.6% of 242 infected), followed by the sheep (6.9% of 5595) and cattle (3.0% of 2368). Records were made of the sizes of the 1320 hydatid cysts detected in the livestock (907 in sheep, 71 in cattle, and 342 in camels), whether or not each cyst was fertile, and where it occurred in the body of the host. Cysts collected from cattle and camels where much more likely to be fertile (22% and 24%, respectively) than those from sheep (1%). Camels and cattle therefore appear to be the principal intermediate hosts for Echinococcus granulosus in central Sudan, whereas sheep apparently play a marginal role in transmission. In 2002, as a preliminary assessment of the public-health impact of the disease, 300 residents of a rural village 60 km west of Wad Madani were surveyed using a portable ultrasound scanner. Only one (0.33%) of the villagers investigated was found infected. The implications of these finding are discussed in terms of the various strains of E. granulosus and the role of each in human disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cystic echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease affecting mainly various species of livestock and humans. This study aims at highlighting the course of research on cystic echinococcosis in different animals and humans in Sudan (including the recently independent state of South Sudan) since the disease was first reported in 1908. Recent data about the genetic identification of the parasite in the countries in both humans and animals and its importance for future control programs is discussed.