Table 1. Echinococcus life cycle and transmission.

Stage: Lifecycle stage of the parasite.

Host: Type of host the parasite infects (definitive or intermediate).

Description: Brief explanation of the parasite's behavior or location at this stage.

Transmission: How the parasite moves between hosts (environment, accidental, or mechanical vectors).

Environment: Transmission through contaminated soil/dirt.

Accidental: Transmission to humans through accidental contact.

Mechanical vectors: Transmission by organisms carrying eggs without being infected themselves.

(Adult/larval): Indicates the vector does not harbor the parasite itself (adult or larval stage).

(Eggs): Indicates the vector carries the parasite eggs on its body.

References: [7,10,12,17,19,21].

The table was created by Nitesh Badwaik.

Stage	Host	Description
Adult worm	Definitive (carnivore)	Lives in small intestine, releases eggs
Eggs	Environment	Excreted by definitive host, contaminate soil/dirt
Egg (hatching)	Intermediate (herbivore)	Ingested by intermediate host, hatches in small intestine
Oncosphere	Intermediate	Travels through bloodstream, reaches organs (liver, lungs)
Cyst	Intermediate	Develops in organs, grows, forms daughter cysts and protoscolices
Protoscolices (infection)	Definitive	Ingested by definitive host through infected organs
Adult worm	Definitive	Develops in colon, restarts cycle
Transmission (intermediate)	Environment	Eggs contaminate soil/dirt, ingested by intermediate host
Transmission (accidental)	Human	Contact with eggs on soil/dirt or animal hair
Mechanical vectors	None (adult/larval)
Mechanical vectors (eggs)	Flies, birds, arthropods	Passively carry eggs on bodies