Efisio Arru

Arru graduated from the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Sassari in 1957. In 1978 he was appointed Professor of Parasitology at the same institution, where he built a research programme focused on the epidemiology and control of Echinococcus granulosus in Sardinia and Italy more broadly.^[2]

Arru's principal research concerned hydatid disease (cystic echinococcosis) caused by Echinococcus granulosus, a tapeworm parasite transmitted between dogs and livestock. Sardinia has one of the highest prevalences of the disease in Europe, largely due to the island's extensive sheep-farming tradition.

Among his documented publications, Arru investigated the distribution of E. granulosus in dogs in Sardinia,^[3] and co-authored a comparative study of hydatidosis in Italy with particular regard to Sardinia and Sicily.^[4] His work provided a foundation for subsequent research on echinococcosis in Sardinia.^[5]