Echinococcosis: historical landmarks and progress in research and control

Although hydatid cysts were recognised and described in ancient times, in both livestock and humans, it was not until the 17th Century that their biological nature began to be understood. The past 50 years have seen a veritable revolution in knowledge and technology applicable to the biology of the cestodes and the diseases they cause. The parasites that form hydatid cysts belong to the genus Echinococcus, which is now recognized as a complex of closely related cestode parasites adapted to a variety of host-assemblages linked by predator-prey relationships. Synanthropic transmission in dogs and domestic livestock greatly increases the possibilities of zoonotic transmission, and the highest prevalences of Echinococcus infection in humans therefore occur in populations engaged in livestock rearing in which domestic dogs have access to the viscera of the livestock that serve as intermediate hosts. The application of modern scientific technology over the last few decades has not only revealed the diversity of host-parasite relationships within the genus Echinococcus but also led to greatly improved technology for the diagnosis and treatment of the echinococcoses in humans and lower animals. Although control programmes have led to marked reductions in transmission in certain geographical and socio-political settings, transmission and the resultant diseases continue unabated throughout most of the parasites' world-wide distribution.