OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of @entity1 @entity8434 in the Netherlands by using data from laboratories carrying out diagnostic procedures and data from pathology registries from 1997-2008. DESIGN: Descriptive. METHOD: Data on serological diagnostic tests for @entity12047 carried out from 1997 to 2008 were gathered from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in Bilthoven and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). Additionally, all @entity8434 @entity1 registered on the pathology database of the Dutch pathological anatomy national automated archive (PALGA) were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 7314 serum samples from 5125 @entity1 were examined for antibodies. Cyst material from 39 @entity1 was examined using molecular methods. The number of serum samples sent in annually was stable at 550 to 600. Over the period investigated, 1997-2008, on serological investigation a total of 485 @entity1 were found to have a positive result on IgG-ELISA. Of these, the diagnosis of @entity8434 was confirmed in 445 @entity1 by further serological investigation (on average 37 new @entity1 each year (range: 19-59)) and/or a positive PCR result. Over the duration of the study period the number of new @entity1 decreased from over 40 to fewer than 30 @entity1 per year. Going by the family name, 95.5% of the 445 @entity1 were probably imported cases of disease. CONCLUSION: In the Netherlands, @entity8434 is primarily seen as an imported disease with the majority of @entity1 originating from areas around the Mediterranean Sea where it is endemic. Each year there are nearly 30 confirmed cases.

[Decline of XXXX in the Netherlands; 1997-2008].

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human', 'patients'] @entity8434 :: ('MESH:D004443', 'Disease') :: ['echinococcosis'] @entity12047 :: ('6210', 'Species') :: ['Echinococcus granulosus']
@entity8434 :: (MESH:D004443,Disease) :: ['echinococcosis']
