Ultrasonographic diagnosis of ovine cystic echinococcosis

The sanitary and economic impact of cystic echinococcosis is serious in tho se countries where it becomes endemic. Ultrasonography is one technique tha t may be used to diagnose this disease in endemic areas. In parasitized she ep, hydatid cysts appear sonographically as a round hypoechoic structure. T wenty two sheep destined for slaughter were studied sonographically and ima ging findings compared to post-mortem findings. Three sheep with hydatid cy sts were identified. Eighty additional sheep not destined for slaughter wer e also studied. Echinococcus granulosus cysts were detected in three animal s. Forty sheep from a non-endemic area had no hepatic cysts. The in vivo so nographic study of sheep provides a useful screening tool for echinococcosi s.