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Parasite Medical Program
As many as 300,000 Tibetans are suffering from a deadly parasite. This disease, echinococcosis, progresses through early stages
unknown to the infected person, unless detected by medical tests. If not treated, this widespread disease can cause failure of the
liver and lungs, which leads to a painful death. Tibetan children, adults, and monks become infected through poor sanitation and
contact with infected dogs.
In 1997, Carol Delker, BLSCP member, assisted a renowned medical research team in remote Tibetan villages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was the lead institution. A total of 7,702 Tibetans were tested for the disease. The average infection rate was measured to be 5.6%. A summary of the research is provided in Echinococcosis on the Tibetan Plateau: Risk Factors for Infection in Tibetan Populations, by Dr. Peter M. Schantz, of the CDC. Click here to view a pictorial diagram of the life cycle of the parasite that causes echinococcosis. | |
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In September 2002, Bill Warnock, BLSCP member, led an information exchange with Lhasa City Hospital
on echinococcosis. The other BLSCP delegate was Prof. Philip S. Craig, University of Salford, United Kingdom, a renowned expert
on the disease. In this photo, Prof. Craig delivers a lecture on the disease to the medical staff of Lhasa City Hospital. They discussed
the disease with many health care personnel at city, county, and village levels. In cooperation with Lhasa City Hospital, they
developed a long-term plan for training on diagnosis and treatment, as well as control and prevention. This exchange was funded
through many individual and corporate donations. |
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In May 2006, Bill Warnock, BLSCP member, attended an International Workshop on "Treatment,
Prevention and Control of Echinococcosis" in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, which was hosted by Sichuan Center for Disease Control
and Prevention. The 70 workshop participants, shown in this photo, were from China and eight foreign countries. The purpose of the
workshop was to provide a regional, national, and international platform to consider the public health impact of echinococcosis, to
consider optimization and improvement in treatment of human cases, to discuss risk factors, epidemiology and transmission, and
assess the potential for current and long-term future control strategies in Tibetan community areas. BLSCP networked with many
stakeholders about the need for a training project on diagnosis and treatment of echinococcosis with Lhasa City Hospital and
developed new strategies for implementing the training project. Workshop participation and support was funded by a $5,000 grant
from the Everest '96 Memorial Fund
of The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County. |
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Our new strategies include developing new partnerships with various workshop participants. Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi,
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, and other participants expressed an eagerness to conduct a scientific survey of the
prevalence of echinococcosis in Tibet Autonomous Region. The First Teaching Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University (XMU) has
been providing some training on diagnosis and treatment of echinococcosis in other provinces. As a result of the BLSCP participation
in the workshop, Dr. Wen Hao, XMU, visited Lhasa City Hospital in mid-May 2006 and agreed to cooperate on some activities.
In October 2006, Dr. Wen Hao and others conducted an echinococcosis prevalence survey in Damshung County, Lhasa Prefecture, in cooperation with Center for Disease Control of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR CDC). The survey of 555 rural Tibetans revealed a total of 54 new and previous cases of cystic echinococcosis (CE). For the new cases, the prevalence was about 4%, which is considered to be a high percentage. There were no cases of alveolar echinococcosis (AE). The XMU researchers collected fecal samples from 124 dogs and took them back to their laboratory for screening. Prof. Philip S. Craig, University of Salford, United Kingdom, arrived in Lhasa just as the survey ended. He and the others visited Lhasa City Hospital, where two XMU clinical surgeons performed about 11 surgeries on CE patients and provided training on the use of ultrasound for such cases. Funds are needed now for implementing a long-term program with Lhasa City Hospital. The first phase will include training on diagnosis and treatment of echinococcosis in Tibetan herders and farmers in rural Lhasa Prefecture. The following phases will include control and prevention of the disease in human and animal populations. | |
| Contact: | Bill Warnock |
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| Phone: | 303-443-9863 |
| E-mail: | health@boulder-tibet.org |
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