Echinococcus multilocularis Rævens dværgbændelorm (The dwarf fox tapeworm)

Zoonotic cestodes IV | Order: Cyclophyllidea | Family: Taeniidae

Adult tapeworms (length: 1-2 mm). Scolex armed with rostellar hooklets and four suckers. The scolex is typically provided with four or five segments: The first two segments are immature (short). The next segment is mature (squared) with one lateral genital opening close to the anterior end of the segment. The last segment is gravid, holding eggs in a posterior sac-like cluster; genital opening is also anterior.

Final hosts: Wild canids, domestic dogs and cats. Intermediate hosts: Mainly microtine rodents. Observed on few occasions in Danish foxes (2000) and in a Danish cat (2004).

Location: Adult tapeworms in the small intestine of the final hosts. Multilocular hydatids in the liver of intermediate hosts.