Life cycles of Echinococcus multilocularis in relation to human infection.

The cycle of Echinococcus multilocularus in natural and synanthropic hosts was investigated during 10 yr in an endemic focus of alveolar hydatid disease in the Massif Central of France. The natural cycle, involving red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and voles, Arvicola terrestris, existed immediately surrounding a village in which human cases of alveolar hydatid disease occurred. Both foxes and free-ranging dogs could serve as the source of infection for the human population.