Echinococcus granulosus
A Parasitic Tapeworm
What is Echinococcus granulosus?
Echinococcus granulosus is a parasitic tapeworm that is known to exist almost world wide and can infect a variety of hosts. It is hard to believe, but this little organism pictured above can be responsible for the death or disease of many animals closely associated with our daily lives, it can even infect human beings themselves. Other hosts, besides humans, include canines such as wolves, coyotes, and even house hold dogs. Reindeer, moose, sheep and cows, among others, also play host to these organisms.
Many infected hosts live their day to day life without ever knowing they are infected. However, others who end up rupturing the cysts produced in any of the possible host organs, can end up going into anaphylactic shock. The results of this can very from mild irritation to death.
This site is dedicated to E. granulosus because in order to prevent this parasite from affecting your lives or the lives of animals close to you, it is important to become informed. Moreover, this site is part of a larger project to provide information on a large variety and number of species in one location, MultipleOrganisms.net.