Echinococcosis

Abstract

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) are zoonoses of great medical and veterinary importance, caused by Echinococcus granulosus species complex and E. multilocularis, respectively. The life cycle of these parasites develops between the dog and other canids, which harbor the adult tapeworm in the intestine, and mammal intermediate hosts (including humans as dead-end occasional hosts) where the larval form, the metacestode, develops in different organs. The impact of CE and AE on human health is important, with an estimated 1.2 million people affected and 3.6 million DALYs lost globally for CE and 666,434 DALYs for AE. We describe epidemiology, host’s immune response to parasite, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of both CE and AE.