Echinococcus granulosus Hundens dværgbændelorm (The dwarf dog tapeworm)
Zoonotic cestodes III | Order: Cyclophyllidea | Family: Taeniidae
Adult tapeworm (length: 3-5 mm). Scolex armed with rostellar hooklets. Four suckers. Behind the scolex typically three or four segments. The first segment is immature and short. The next one is mature with one lateral genital opening at the middle of the segment. The last segment is gravid: Its branched uterus is full of eggs. Infected dogs drop such segments with faeces.		Echinococcus eggs are similar to eggs of all other Taeniidae species, i.e. spherical, about 30 µm in diameter, the outermost layer is a radially striped protein layer (embryophore). Inside an oncosphere with 3x2 embryonal hooks (may be hard to see).
Final host: Dogs and wild canids. Intermediate hosts: Domestic ruminants and other mammals, including humans, get infected by egg uptake. Humans get infected via hands contaminated with eggs from dog faeces.
Location: Adult tapeworms in the small intestine of final hosts. Unilocular hydatids in the liver and lungs of intermediate hosts.