To the Editor: Echinococcosis is a serious parasitic zoonosis in the Northern Hemisphere. In Japan, it is characterized by alveolar, hepatic, and cerebral disorders in humans caused by the larval form (metacestode) of the tapeworm Echinococcus multiloc-ularis. The life cycle of the parasite is maintained in the wild by gray-backed voles, Clethrionomys rufo-canus, as intermediate hosts, and by r...
