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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Infection

Primary splenic Alveolar Echinococcosis: a case report from Germany

  • Guenter Froeschl1
  • Thomas Vogel2
  • Leon Gehri2
  • Thomas F. E. Barth3
  • Hanspeter Frey3
  • Claudia Wallrauch1
  • Camilla Rothe1
  1. 1Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
  2. 2Department of General- and Visceral Surgery, Hospital of Starnberg, Starnberg, Germany
  3. 3Institute of Pathology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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Abstract

Purpose: We are reporting on a rare case of a primary manifestation of Alveolar Echinococcosis in the spleen in a German patient.

Methods: The patient was initially presented to her gastroenterologist and subsequently referred to a district hospital for surgical management. The further antiparasitic treatment was taken over by the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Germany.

Case report: A 59-year-old German woman presented to her gastroenterologist with weight loss and abdominal discomfort. An ultrasonographic finding of a splenic lesion was further evaluated by abdominal CT and MRI, interpreted initially as a hamartoma by the radiologists. Following partial splenectomy, where an accidental intra-operative cyst rupture occured, pathological examination raised suspicion of echinococcosis. An immune-histological analysis of the resected splenic tissue by the German Reference Laboratory for Echinococcosis confirmed Alveolar Echinococcosis. No additional lesions suggestive of echinococcosis were identified. The patient is currently successfully treated with continuous antiparasitic therapy with albendazole.

Conclusions: Primary manifestations of Alveolar Echinococcosis in the spleen are rare, and may be misleading towards other differential diagnoses.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{froeschl2026primary,
  title = {{Primary splenic Alveolar Echinococcosis: a case report from Germany}},
  author = {Guenter Froeschl and Thomas Vogel and Leon Gehri and Thomas F. E. Barth and Hanspeter Frey and Claudia Wallrauch and Camilla Rothe},
  journal = {Infection},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1007/s15010-026-02911-x},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-026-02911-x},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Primary splenic Alveolar Echinococcosis: a case report from Germany
AU  - Guenter Froeschl
AU  - Thomas Vogel
AU  - Leon Gehri
AU  - Thomas F. E. Barth
AU  - Hanspeter Frey
AU  - Claudia Wallrauch
AU  - Camilla Rothe
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/03
JO  - Infection
DO  - 10.1007/s15010-026-02911-x
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-026-02911-x
AB  - Purpose: We are reporting on a rare case of a primary manifestation of Alveolar Echinococcosis in the spleen in a German patient.  Methods: The patient was initially presented to her gastroenterologist and subsequently referred to a district hospital for surgical management. The further antiparasitic treatment was taken over by the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Germany.  Case report: A 59-year-old German woman presented to her gastroenterologist with weight loss and abdominal discomfort. An ultrasonographic finding of a splenic lesion was further evaluated by abdominal CT and MRI, interpreted initially as a hamartoma by the radiologists. Following partial splenectomy, where an accidental intra-operative cyst rupture occured, pathological examination raised suspicion of echinococcosis. An immune-histological analysis of the resected splenic tissue by the German Reference Laboratory for Echinococcosis confirmed Alveolar Echinococcosis. No additional lesions suggestive of echinococcosis were identified. The patient is currently successfully treated with continuous antiparasitic therapy with albendazole.  Conclusions: Primary manifestations of Alveolar Echinococcosis in the spleen are rare, and may be misleading towards other differential diagnoses.
SN  - 0300-8126
SN  - 1439-0973
ER  -