Echinococcoses require the involvement of specialists from nearly all disciplines; standardization of the terminology used in the field is thus crucial. To harmonize echinococcosis terminology on sound scientific and linguistic grounds, the World Association of Echinococcosis launched a Formal Consensus process. Under the coordination of a Steering and Writing Group (SWG), a Consultation and Rating Group (CRG) had the main missions of (1) providing input on the list of terms drafted by the SWG, taking into account the available literature and the participants’ experience; and (2) providing independent rating on all debated terms submitted to vote. The mission of the Reading and Review Group (RRG) was to give an opinion about the recommendation paper in terms of readability, acceptability and applicability. The main achievements of this process were: (1) an update of the current nomenclature of Echinococcus spp.; (2) an agreement on three names of diseases due to Echinococcus spp.: Cystic Echinococcosis (CE), Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE) and Neotropical Echinococcosis (NE), and the exclusion of all other names; (3) an agreement on the restricted use of the adjective “hydatid” to refer to the cyst and fluid due to E. granulosus sensu lato; and (4) an agreement on a standardized description of the surgical operations for CE, according to the “Approach, cyst Opening, Resection, and Completeness” (AORC) framework. In addition, 95 “approved” and 60 “rejected” terms were listed. The recommendations provided in this paper will be applicable to scientific publications in English and communication with professionals. They will be used for translation into other languages spoken in endemic countries.

Echinococcosis, caused by larval stage of the genus Echinococcus, is one of the most important zoonotic diseases worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence and prevalence of Echinococcus species in stray dogs of Erzurum, a highly endemic region for cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in Turkey. The study samples consisted of 446 stray dog faecal specimens collected from an animal shelter in Erzurum, Turkey, between October 2015 and February 2016. The faecal samples were collected from individual dogs for the isolation of taeniid eggs using the sequential sieving and flotation method (SSFM). Molecular analyses and sequencing revealed the prevalence of Echinococcus spp. as 14.13% (63/446) in faecal samples. The stray dogs harboured five different Echinococcus spp.: E. granulosus s.s. (G1/G3) (n = 41), E. equinus (G4) (n = 3), E. ortleppi (G5) (n = 1), E. canadensis (G6/G7) (n = 3) and E. multilocularis (n = 16). E. granulosus s.s. was the most abundant species. Surprisingly, the occurrence of E. multilocularis in dogs was revealed for the first time in Turkey. E. ortleppi was also reported for the first time in Turkey. These findings highlight a significant public health risk for human AE and CE, presenting useful baseline data on Echinococcus spp. infection in dogs for designing control strategies.

Dogs have an important role in public health due to their close contact with humans and living in common areas. This study was aimed to investigate the presence and prevalence of gastrointestinal system helminths in stray dogs in Erzurum province. Gastrointestinal helminth eggs were detected in a total of 190 out of 446 (42.6%) in stray dogs in Erzurum province. In the study, taeniid eggs (17.71%, 79/446), T. canis (16.82%, 75/446), T. leonina (12.78%, 57/446), Linguatula spp. (4.48%, 20/446), spiny-headed worms (2.91%, 13/446), hookworms (2.69%, 12/446), Alaria spp. (1.12%, 5/446) and Trichuris spp. (0.22%, 1/446) eggs were observed. In addition, proglottid structures of Mesocestoides spp. (3.14%), Taenia spp. (2.69%), and D. caninum (1.12%), adults of Alaria spp. (0.22%), T. canis (0.22%), and T. leonina (0.22%) were detected. According to the results of the study, zoonotic parasites including taeniid cestodes, T. canis, Linguatula spp., spiny-headed worm, hookworm, Alaria spp., and Trichuris spp. were common in stray dogs in the province. Public health risks can be reduced by regular deworming of dogs, proper management of the process, prevention of environmental contamination with dog feces, and proper enforcement of sanitation protocols.