Canines become infected with E. granulosus by eating the contaminated flesh of an intermediate, cyst-infested host. The cyst wall is then digested and the larvae it contains are released. The larvae migrate deep into the crypts of Lieberkuhn and develop into adult tapeworms within seven to nine weeks. Infection in definitive hosts is usually asymptomatic, but may cause inflammation of the intestinal wall and digestive irritation in serious cases.