{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T09:12:20Z","timestamp":1777972340741,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777852800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare zoonotic infection caused by Echinococcus multilocularis. In recent years, the number of reported cases has increased across Europe, including Switzerland. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), including all AE cases diagnosed between 2010 and 2023 within the Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Visceral Surgery, and Infectious Diseases. Results: Eighty patients with AE were identified. Half of them were male. The mean annual incidence was 0.53 cases per 100,000 population (range, 0.14\u20130.85), with a statistically significant increase over time in the canton of Vaud (p = 0.037). The median age at diagnosis was 61.5 years, showing a significant downward trend during the study period. At diagnosis, 45 patients (56.3%) were asymptomatic, and 17 (21.3%) were immunosuppressed. Compared with immunocompetent patients, immunosuppressed individuals more often presented asymptomatically, had significantly smaller hepatic lesions, and were more frequently seronegative. Conclusions: This study demonstrates evolving epidemiological patterns of AE in Switzerland, characterized by increasing incidence and a high proportion of asymptomatic cases. Immunosuppressed patients tended to present with milder disease. Our findings highlight the need for strengthened surveillance and support the ongoing efforts to establish a national AE registry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15050495","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T07:57:29Z","timestamp":1777967849000},"page":"495","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Increasing Case Numbers and Earlier Age at Diagnosis of Alveolar Echinococcosis: Insights from a 13-Year Retrospective Swiss Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Lasse","family":"Weikert","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-3693-2827","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sophie","family":"Kasmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0964-9546","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael","family":"Schneider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Visceral Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohamed","family":"Faouzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biostatistics, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisant\u00e9), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sabine","family":"Schmidt Kobbe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christine","family":"Sempoux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0933-7833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthias","family":"Cavassini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Infectious diseases, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emeline","family":"Gauthiez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Infectious diseases, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2493-0750","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emilie","family":"Uldry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Visceral Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Montserrat","family":"Fraga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pt.2015.06.001","article-title":"Threat of alveolar echinococcosis to public health\u2014A challenge for Europe","volume":"31","author":"Gottstein","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2024). 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