[Diagnosis and treatment of cystic echinococcosis]

New data are given on the life cycle of tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus, agents of a serious helmintozoonotic disease. The tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, the agent of cystic echinococcosis, circulates also in Slovakia. Cystic echinococcosis most frequently affects the liver and a radical surgical treatment supplemented with the application of antiparasitics are the commonly used methods. The authors present the WHO proposal for classification of echinococcal cysts into 6 types, according to ultrasound imaging. They also report on a new technique known as PAIR (puncture--aspiration--injection--reaspiration), successfully used in many patients in endemic countries. They warn of a rapid distribution of the tapeworm E. multilocularis, the agent of alveolar echinococcosis, in central Europe. (Ref. 13.)