[Echinococcosis in humans in Poland and in the world. An introduction to the session on echinococcosis].

The activities of Associacion International de Hidatidologia, Informal WHO Working Groups on Research in Echinocooccosis and Japanese parasitologists group in Hokkaido are summarized. Progress in studying both cystic and alveolar echinococcoses in Poland is reviewed. In the last five years at the University of Medical Sciences in Poznań Poland echinococcosis was a subject of three MD thesis and habilitation for docent degree.