Definition of "echinococcus" []

• Any of several parasitic tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus, the larvae of which infect mammals and form large, spherical cysts in the liver or lungs, causing serious or fatal disease. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The echinococcus is a tiny cestode which is the factor in the production of the well-known hydatid cysts which may be found in any part of the body."
• "Other arctic zoonotic diseases that could be influenced by climate change include botulism, paralytic shellfish poisoning, tularemia, brucellosis, echinococcus, trichinosis, and cryptosporidium."
• "Warmer temperatures may allow species with a low rate of infection, such as brucellosis in caribou or echinococcus in voles, to survive in larger numbers increasing the number of susceptible hosts and infected animals."