Echinococcus granulosus infection in domestic pig – a case study

Abstract

Hydatid disease is a serious human health concern, caused by cysts of the tapeworm parasite Echinococcus granulosus. The tapeworm occurs in dogs, with the intermediate life cycle stage (the ‘hydatid cyst’) forming in many warm-blooded animals as well as in humans. This case study consists in post slaughter examination of a sow raised in a sheep small farm. The sow was slaughtered because of progressive weakening. The results of necropsy and histology exams revealed the Echinococcus granulosus infection. In the 2-year-old sow carcass, multiple vesicular, whitish, variable-sized lesions, between 2 and 4 cm in diameter, were seen in the liver parenchyma. The definitive host of Echinococcus gransulosus is the dog, who has the taenia in its small intestine and excretes embryonated eggs in its scat. The intermediate hosts can be various, usually sheep, but we can also find it in pigs, among others, as well as people, as it is a zoonosis. Obtained data are relevant in designing regional control strategies to suppress the occurrence of disease in livestock and risk for humans to be infected.