Abstract
This review provides information about the prevalence of human and animal echinococcosis in various regions of the world. Many countries are endemic to this disease, especially in Eastern Europe, Asia, the North Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, southern Russia, and other countries. The disease poses a biological threat to the world's population, as the number of infected people around the globe increases every year, and the invasion progresses. Echinococcosis is a natural focal geohelminthiasis that is distributed among wild animals regardless of human presence; however, there are foci associated with human activity in cases in which the pathogen circulates in domestic animals and synanthropic mouse-like rodents. Two types of Echinococcus sp., namely E. multilocularis and E. granulosus, prevail in Central Europe and are causative agents of the two most significant forms: alveolar echinococcosis (AE) and cystic echinococcosis (CE) in humans. The liver and lungs are the most affected organs by the morbidity structure of the disease. The average annual incidence of human AE in Central Europe is 0.02-1.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In the Russian Federation, the incidence of echinococcosis in 2023 was 494 cases (0.34 per 100,000 people). High incidence rates of animal echinococcosis have also been reported. In South America and Africa, the prevalence of echinococcosis in goats was 6.16%-10.85% and 13.27%, respectively. A high incidence of sheep echinococcosis (31%) was recorded in the northern Tajikistan region. In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic of the Russian Federation, in the period from 2012 to 2020, the incidence rate of echinococcosis of wolves increased from 38.4% to 68.5%, dogs increased from 73.6% to 100%; jackals increased from 46.9% to 90.8%. The prevalence of East multilocularis in foxes in Central Europe exceeds 40% in some areas. Cystic and AE continues to be prevalent in many regions of the world, requiring new or renewed efforts to treat and prevent the invasion.