Echinococcosis: A Drop of Water???Review on Human Disease, Diagnosis, and Management

Abstract

Summary Echinococcosis continues to be a serious public healthproblem throughout the world, especially in sheep-herding areas. Diagnosis should be suspected whenthere is a history of living in, or travel to, an endemicarea in the setting of a characteristic imaging study.Treatment should be tailored for each patient giventheir unique risks and benefits, but most should onlyreceive treatment if symptomatic. Through aggressivevaccination, education, and canine medication, oneday echinococcosis may be as out of date as hydatid isfor a “drop of water.”AcknowledgmentsWe thank Andrew Rhymer for the illustrations and James El-lzy for critical review of the manuscript.