Echinococcus

Common card · No. 482044

Echinococcus is a genus within Cestoda, a parasitic class of the platyhelminthes phylum (colloquially known as flatworms). Human echinococcosis is an infectious disease caused by the following species: E. granulosus, E. multilocularis, E. vogeli or E. oligarthrus. Echinococcus is triploblastic – it has three layers – outermost ectoderm, middle mesoderm, and inner endoderm. An anus is absent, and it has no digestive system. Its body is covered by tegument and the worm is divided into a scolex, a short neck, and three to six proglottids. Its body shape is ribbon-like. In humans, Echinococcus spp. cause a disease called echinococcosis. The three types of echinococcosis are cystic echinococcosis caused by E. granulosus, alveolar echinococcosis caused by E. multilocularis, and polycystic echinococcosis caused by E. vogeli or E. oligarthrus. A worm's incubation period is usually long and can be up to 50 years. Cystic echinococcosis is mostly found in South and Central America, Africa, the Middle...

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