The primary and definitive hosts of the parasitic tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis are animals such as foxes and canids, but it can also occur in humans as an intermediate host, causing fatal alveolar echinococcosis. They can enter the human body through contact with an infected animal or through ingestion of food contaminated with eggs, typically in a larval stage proliferating in the liver. It is characterised by a long and usually asymptomatic incubation period (5-15 years), making it difficult to trace the source of infection.

Around 2015, there was evidence of an increase in incidence due to the successful vaccination of foxes against rabies. The eggs are carried in the animals' faeces to berries, vegetables and fungi near the ground and remain infectious for up to a year (see for example Federer et al., 2016 and Lass et al., 2015).

A previously existing regulation on the control of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in animals has been amended ((EU) 2018/772), but given that food products close to the soil may also be a source of infection, increased official monitoring of berries, vegetables and mushrooms close to the soil should be considered.

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