Hydatid lung cyst in a 5-year-old boy presenting with prolonged fever

Abstract

Cystic echinococcosis is the larval cystic stage (echinococcal cysts) of a small taeniid-type tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus) that may cause illness in intermediate hosts, generally herbivorous animals and people who are infected accidentally. Pulmonary hydatid cysts are typical, involving one lobe in 72% of cases, usually at the lung base. In the paediatric age group, boys are affected more commonly than girls. We present a case of isolated hydatid cyst of the lung in a 5-year-old boy from a nomadic cattle-rearing tribe.