Current state of seroepidemiology of unicameral echinococcosis in the Azerbaijan republic
Aim. Study of seroepidemiological features in the foci of echinococcosis located in different physical and geographical regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Materials and methods. The work was carried out in 5 settlements located in 4 physical and geographical regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In these settlements, a total of 2393 people were examined. Serological studies (seropositivity to unicameral echinococcosis) were carried out using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. It was found that seropositivity to echinococcosis among the population averages 7.23 ± 0.53%. The highest level of seropositivity was 10.18 ± 1.42%, the lowest - 5.01 ± 0.96%. The highest seropositivity was observed in persons containing livestock and dogs (11.81 ± 1.20%). The lowest level of seropositivity was observed at the age of 4-7 years (2.38 ± 1.66%) and 61 and older (4.0 ± 2.26%). The highest level of seropositivity was observed among women 21-30 years old (10.04 ± 1.98%) and among men 12-15 years old (9.31 ± 2.03%). Conclusion. The high level of seropositivity in older age groups of children, especially boys, is due to the frequent grazing of individual cattle accompanied by dogs in the surrounding pastures, work in the garden, etc., and the high level of seropositivity of women is explained by the performance of household chores (cleaning the yard, growing and harvesting from gardens, grooming and feeding livestock and dogs).