How does a person become infected with Echinococcus?
Humans are infected through ingestion of parasite eggs in contaminated food, water or soil, or after direct contact with animal hosts. Echinococcosis is often expensive and complicated to treat and may require extensive surgery and/or prolonged drug therapy.
What disease is caused by Echinococcus granulosus?
Cystic echinocccosis (CE), also known as hydatid disease, is caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, a ~2–7 millimeter long tapeworm found in dogs (definitive host) and sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs (intermediate hosts).
How is hydatid disease transmitted?
Hydatid disease is not transmitted from person to person, or by a person eating the meat of an infected animal. The disease is most commonly found in people raising sheep. Young children are particularly at risk of becoming infected with the tapeworm eggs, but symptoms may not appear for many years.
What is the infective stage of Echinococcus granulosus?
The encysted larval (metacestode) stage is known as a bladder-worm or hydatid, and it produces multiple infective stages (protoscoleces, apparent as invaginated scolices already containing suckers and hooks) either directly from the germinal layer of the cyst wall, or by forming brood sacs (hydatid sand) by endogenous …
How do dogs get infected with Echinococcus granulosus?
Dogs can become infected with echinococcosis by eating an infected rodent (e.g., mice and squirrels) or other small mammals, such as rabbits.
How do you treat Echinococcus granulosus?
Chemotherapy, cyst puncture, and PAIR (percutaneous aspiration, injection of chemicals and reaspiration) have been used to replace surgery as effective treatments for cystic echinococcosis. However, surgery remains the most effective treatment to remove the cyst and can lead to a complete cure.
What is the definitive host of Echinococcus granulosus?
Echinococcus granulosus definitive hosts are wild and domestic canids. Natural intermediate hosts depend on genotype. Intermediate hosts for zoonotic species/genotypes are usually ungulates, including sheep and goats (E.
Is Echinococcus multilocularis zoonotic?
Echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease (transmitted from animals to humans) caused by the larval stage (hydatid cyst) of tapeworms. Eggs are excreted in the faeces of infected dogs and foxes and can be ingested by humans either by close contact with these animals or through contaminated food.
How is cystic echinococcosis transmitted?
The most common mode of transmission to humans is by the accidental consumption of soil, water, or food that has been contaminated by the fecal matter of an infected dog. Echinococcus eggs that have been deposited in soil can stay viable for up to a year.
Is hydatid tapeworm zoonotic?
Cause. Hydatid disease is a zoonotic disease caused by the intermediate stage of the dog tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. It causes cyst formation in internal tissues such as the liver, lungs and brain of grazing animals and people.