Cystic echinococcosis

What it is

A rare parasitic disease characterized by slowly enlarging cysts of the liver, lungs and other organs which often go unnoticed for years. They are caused principally by the larval form (also called metacestode) of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato tapeworm. The adult form of this tapeworm parasitizes the intestine of dogs. Cystic echinococcosis (formerly hydatidosis) generally affects large domestic herbivores and humans are dead-end hosts, infected through contact with herding dogs or through ingestion of food contaminated with canine excrement.

Key facts

Prevalence

1-9 / 100 000 (annual incidence, Europe)

Age of onset

Adult

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

ICD-10 codes

ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references