Cystic Echinococcosis as a Public Health Problem in Latin America and New Approaches to Its Control

Echinococcosis bears an important impact on public health, mainly because it has a chronic course progression that may lead to various degrees of handicap, and even death. Moreover, it has a negative impact on economy, since it causes losses because of the offal seized, it reduces the production of beef, milk and wool, and impairs livestock fecundity (Togerson, 2001). The populations primarily affected are rural workers and their families, people that live in small villages or impoverished town belts, migrants from rural areas that often settle in extremely poor neighborhoods, with high rates of unmet basic needs and severe social fragility. These groups usually keep the habit of feeding their dogs with offal from home-slaughtered animals, perpetuating the parasite’s biological cycle. The lack of drinking water and utilities, together with a low educational level and poor sanitary conditions increase the risk of transmission of these diseases.