Echinococcosis may cause serious disease in an immunocompromised patient.
Affected patients may have:
(1) HIV
(2) organ transplant
(3) cancer
(4) immunodeficiency
(5) autoimmune disorder undergoing immunosuppression (methotrexate, corticosteroids, etc)
Infection in these patients may:
(1) involve multiple organs and/or show an accelerated course
(2) involve alveolar echinococcosis
(3) be associated with negative or weakly positive serologic tests
(4) fail to be diagnosed on small biopsies taken at the edge of lesions
A patient living in an area endemic for echinococcosis should have serologic testing done before undergoing immunosuppressive therapy.
A patient who is immunocompromised should take more precautions to avoid becoming infected, especially if around dogs or if in a high-risk occupation (farmer, hunter, veterinarian).
