Mankind suffered from Echinococcal disease from the time of Hippocrates, who referring to this condition that "livers full of water" and "when the liver is filled with water, and the patient dies".
The terms, Echinococcus and hydatid are derived from the ancient Greek language, meaning "hedgehog berry" and "a drop of water", respectively.
Infection by the parasite involves the liver, most commonlv, followed by lungs. There are two closely related forms-Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus multilocularis (alveolaris). The latter is rare in man and differs biologically and
morphologically from the former.
They are specifically endemic in sheep=growing countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South America. In recent years, the disease has been reported in North America and Japan.
The incidence of Echinococcal cyst is rare in Korea. But several cases were reported except in liver, 1 case 1 case in the kidney and 6 cases in the lung.
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