Germany reported 52 cases of alveolar echinococcosis in 2024, caused by larvae of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, bringing attention to how local disease surveillance might help detect unusual illness patterns.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recorded 20 cases in Bavaria and 17 in Baden-Württemberg. It listed Germany as the likely infection country for 34 of the 38 cases with that information available. The RKI cautioned that a patient's assigned state may not be where the infection occurred.
The Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (LGL) estimates that the parasite is found in an average of one in three to four foxes in Bavaria. People can become infected by accidentally ingesting eggs shed in animal feces, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Human infection is very rare, according to the LGL, but the disease can be life-threatening. The larvae primarily affect the liver, and symptoms may take more than 10 years to appear.
Dr. Carsten Köhler, a tropical medicine expert at the University of Tübingen, told Euronews that local programs for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) may help health workers notice unusual illness patterns. “Wherever NTDs occur, they mark the weak points in the global health system,” Köhler told Euronews.
Echinococcosis is among the WHO's 21 neglected tropical diseases and disease groups. The agency says these illnesses often affect underserved populations and calls for stronger systems to collect, analyze and share health data.
The WHO's 2021 Early Warning and Response System guide describes a tool for detecting dengue, chikungunya and Zika outbreaks. That guide does not establish that NTD programs can identify unknown pandemic threats.
On Oct. 15, the WHO said its Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG-NTD) recommended temporarily pausing consideration of additions to the NTD list while it reviews inclusion criteria established in 2016. Proposed revisions are scheduled for discussion at the group's May 4-6, 2027, meeting.
