Environmental distribution of - and spp.-contaminated dog feces in Kyrgyzstan.

Recently, there have been epidemics of human cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in Kyrgyzstan. This study investigated 2 districts for the presence of s.l. and eggs; species identity was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction in dog feces and the level of environmental contamination with parasite eggs in 2017–2018 was also investigated. In the Alay district 5 villages with a high reported annual incidence of AE of 162 cases per 100 000 and 5 villages in the Kochkor district which had a much lower incidence of 21 cases per 100 000 were investigated. However, the proportion of dog feces containing s.l. eggs was ~4.2 and ~3.5% in Alay and Kochkor respectively. For , the corresponding proportions were 2.8 and 3.2%. Environmental contamination of spp. eggs was estimated using the McMaster technique for fecal egg counts, weight and density of canine feces. The level of environmental contamination with eggs was similar at 4.4 and 5.0 eggs per m in Alay and Kochkor respectively. The corresponding values for s.l. were 8.3 and 7.5 eggs per m. There was no association between village or district level incidence of human AE or CE and the proportion of dog feces containing eggs of spp. or the level of environmental contamination. Increased contamination of taeniid eggs occured in the autumn, after the return of farmers with dogs from summer mountain pastures.