Socio-economic impact of cystic echinococcosis and of its control: some data and considerations.

The socio-economic impact of cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by Echinococcus granulosus, is reviewed with special reference to the following topics: consequences in man and livestock, costs and benefits of control programmes and economic procedures for evaluating control programmes. Examples of some important costs and benefits are given. Many consequences in man and livestock are difficult to evaluate from an economic point of view, because some basic data are difficult to obtain in many countries. However, the socio-economic evaluation of the consequences of CE and of the present and future control actions proves indispensable to best use available resources and possibly tailor control stategies.