Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE): An Important Neglected Foodborne Pathogen Threatening Community Health

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) caused byEchinococcus multilocularis can infect humansas a dead-end host. They matured in canid’sintestine (e.g. foxes, jackals, wolves, dogs, cats,etc.). AE is seen across the world. It has a highprevalence in the central and northern parts ofEurope, North America and Asia. Theprevalence of AE was low in the past, even inhyper endemic regions. But in recent decade,unfortunately, it seems to increase and spreadrapidly. One of the most important reasons is thedevelopment and expanding of cities andvillages, which lead to jackals and foxescolonization and migration to urban locations.This helps them to have closer connection withhuman population, canids and other appropriatehosts for dispreading the infection. In the presentstudy, we discuss about the life cycle of E.multilocularis and its etiology and epidemiologyas an important neglected zoonotic parasite. Incanid as final hosts, infection is not malignantand significant clinical signs are usually neverseen, unless in very unusual heavy infections.However, in contrast, infection in humans isvery dangerous, and even more serious thananother widespread species, Echinococcusgranulosus that causes cystic echinococcosis(CE) (1).