Disseminated Echinococcus multilocularis Infection without Liver Involvement in Child, Canada, 2018 - Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC

Disseminated Echinococcus multilocularis Infection without Liver Involvement in Child, Canada, 2018 - Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC

Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020

Dispatch

Disseminated Echinococcus multilocularis Infection without Liver Involvement in Child, Canada, 2018

Joanna Joyce1, Xiao-Ou He1, Katya Rozovsky1, Camelia Stefanovici1, and Sergio Fanella1 

Author affiliations: Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (J. Joyce); University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (X.-O. He, K. Rozovsky, C. Stefanovici, S. Fanella)

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Abstract

An immunocompetent child in Canada received a diagnosis of disseminated alveolar Echinococcus multilocularis infection. The case lacked typical features of liver involvement and was possibly related to a rare congenital portosystemic shunt. We summarize the rapidly evolving epidemiology of E. multilocularis parasites in Canada.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonosis caused by the metacestode of Echinococcus multilocularis parasites. The definitive hosts include foxes and canines; humans become infected through accidental ingestion of ova dispersed in the environment from feces. AE affects mainly adults, by the formation of irregular lesions within various organs, primarily the liver (1,2). In Canada, the incidence of human cases of E. multilocularis is low (3). We describe a case of disseminated AE without hepatic involvement in a child from Manitoba with a congenital portosystemic shunt, in the context of emerging epidemiology of AE in Canada.