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( A European Register of alveolar Echinococcosis "EurEchinoReg"The European participants in the WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis initiated a pilot project concerning epidemiology of AE in Europe which received support from the European Commission-DGV-F1 in December 1997. The aim of this project is to collect human clinical and epidemiological data on one hand and animal epidemiological and ecological data on the other hand to establish a European register of AE : EurEchinoReg. It will be of help to delineate the place of AE for public health and, therefore, serve as basis for future studies on the relationship of animal infection and contamination, and on the clinical management of patients. To obtain optimal information about the disease and its infectious agent it was decided to establish National and Sentinel Centers which will collect reliable data on epidemiology of AE; will monitor the follow up of patients using a common European classification scheme; will create the network resources for conducting new multicentre therapeutic trials and will facilitate international staff exchanges, and training of specialists involved in these problems.
The advances in the studies concerning the problem of AE were the subject of an international discussion meeting held at the Saline Royale, Arc et Senans, France, on June 5-6, 1998. The expected results of the pilot project are : a sound evaluation of AE epidemiology in humans, in Europe and the Middle East countries and its trends; a comprehensive map of the zoonosis in definitive and intermediate hosts especially in relation to the recent changes in fox populations in the mentioned areas. It will be of maximum help if anybody working in the mentioned areas can include his data to the pilot study using any of the mentioned address, where he can obtain the common minimum questionnaire
Contact people are as follows :Subregisters for humans cases :Ulm (Germany) ; coordinator : Peter Kern ; collection of data : Petra Kern.Besançon (France) ; coordinator : Dominique A Vuitton ; collection of data : Karine Bardonnet
Subregisters for animal epidemiology :Hohenheim (Germany) ; coordinator : Thomas Römig.Besançon (France) ; coordinator : Patrick Giraudoux ; collection of data : Francis Raoul.
National Centers :Vienna (Austria) ; coordinator : Herbert AuerBruxelles/Liège (Belgium) ; coordinators : Yves Carlier, Bertrand Losson Salford (U.K.) ; coordinator : Philip Craig Rome (Italy) ; coordinator : Alessandra Siracusano Bern (Switzerland) ; coordinator : Bruno Gottstein
Sentinel Teams :
For the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries : Bilthoven ; coordinator : Joke van der Giessen. For Central Europe : Prague ; coordinator : Libuse Kolarova (assisted by Z. Pawlowski and A. Malczewski for Poland).
For Greece : Thessaloniki ; coordinator : I. Prousalidis.
For Turkey and Middle East countries : Izmir ; coordinator : Nazmiye Altintas (Assisted by M. Zarrifar for Iran).
For Spain : who is willing to help ??!
Contacts : Dominique A. Vuitton : fax : 33 3 81 66 55 70 / e-mail : dominique.vuitton@univ-fcomte.fr
Peter Kern : Fax : 49 731 502 44 22 / e-mail : pkern@medizin.uni-ulm.de
Thomas Römig : fax : 49 711 459 22 76Patrick Giraudoux : fax : 33 3 80 39 62 31 / e-mail : pgir@satie.u-bourgogne.fr
( A New Medical Treatment for echinococcosis ???Oxfendazole (twice weekly at a dose of 30 mg/kg for 4 weeks) has been tested on hydatid cysts of goats and sheep with success... It seems also to be active on E. granulosus eggs in dogs... What about alveolar echinococcosis ? Clinical trials are needed...Contact : R.E. Blanton, e-mail : reb6@po.cwru.edu
