A Partial Annotated Bibliography of Echinococcosis/Hydatidosis in the One-Humped Camel

The one-humped camel is an important domestic animal in arid and semiarid areas of Mediterranean Africa, East Africa and West and South Asia where it contributes to human livelihoods and welfare. Little studied until recently infection with hydatid cysts of Echinococcus granulosus has now been recorded in the animal in more than 20 counties of its recorded natural range. In comparative studies, mostly on animals slaughtered for human consumption, that include other domestic ruminants the camel usually has higher rates of infection than sheep, cattle or goats. Highest rates of infection of internal organs are usually found in the lungs and secondarily in the liver whereas in other livestock the predilection site is usually the liver. Most studies have examined the epidemiology of the disease but more recent ones have attempted molecular characterization and descriptions of the G6 (camel) strain of E. granulosus. The camel is often regarded as an anachronism by national administrations and veterinary services but as an important domestic animal for often marginalized human groups and as a potential source of infection for human’s identification and control of hydatid disease more attention to the problem is warranted.