Alveolar hydatid disease in Minnesota. First human case acquired in the contiguous United States
Gamble, W.G.; Segal, M.; Schantz, P.M.; Rausch, R.L.
JAMA 241(9): 904-907
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0098-7484 PMID: 762867 Document Number: 151762
A 56-year-old woman from southwestern Minnesota, USA, underwent an extended left hepatic lobectomy to remove a large multinodular mass with a necrotic central cavity. The clinical, serological, and pathological findings led to the diagnosis of alveolar hydatid disease, and specific identification of Echinococcus multilocularis was achieved by growing mature larvae in voles inoculated intraperitoneally with tissue from the hepatic lesions. The patient probably acquired the infection some years previously from pet cats or dogs that had become infected by ingesting infected rodents. [AS].