Echinococcosis is a parasitic disease caused by tapeworms of the Echinococcus type. The two main types of the disease are cystic echinococcosis and alveolar echinococcosis. Less common forms include polycystic echinococcosis and unicystic echinococcosis.
Diphyllobothrium is a genus of tapeworms which can cause diphyllobothriasis in humans through consumption of raw or undercooked fish. The principal species causing diphyllobothriasis is D. latum, known as the broad or fish tapeworm, or broad fish tapeworm. D. latum is a pseudophyllid cestode that infects fish and mammals. D. latum is native to Scandinavia, western Russia, and the Baltics, though it is now also present in North America, especially the Pacific Northwest. In Far East Russia, D. klebanovskii, having Pacific salmon as its second intermediate host, was identified.
Hymenolepiasis is infestation by one of two species of tapeworm: Hymenolepis nana or H. diminuta. Alternative names are dwarf tapeworm infection and rat tapeworm infection. The disease is a type of helminthiasis which is classified as a neglected tropical disease.
Alveolar hydatid disease (AHD) is a form of echinococcosis, or a disease that originates from a parasitic flatworm. AHD is caused by an infection of the flatworm species Echinococcus multilocularis. Although alveolar echinococcosis is rarely diagnosed in humans and is not as widespread as cystic echinococcosis, it is also still a serious disease that has a significantly high fatality rate. It is considered one of the most life-threatening helminthic infections humans can have.
Spirometra is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs that pass with the animal's feces. When the eggs reach water, the eggs hatch into coracidia which are eaten by copepods. The copepods are eaten by a second intermediate host to continue the life cycle. Humans can become infected if they accidentally eat frog legs or fish with the plerocercoid stage encysted in the muscle. In humans, an infection of Spirometra is termed sparganosis.
Taenia is the type genus of the Taeniidae family of tapeworms. It includes some important parasites of livestock. Members of the genus are responsible for taeniasis and cysticercosis in humans, which are types of helminthiasis belonging to the group of neglected tropical diseases. More than 100 species are recorded. They are morphologically characterized by a ribbon-like body composed of a series of segments called proglottids; hence the name Taenia. The anterior end of the body is the scolex. Some members of the genus Taenia have an armed scolex ; of the two major human parasites, Taenia saginata has an unarmed scolex, while Taenia solium has an armed scolex.
Echinococcus is a genus within Cestoda, a parasitic class of the platyhelminthes phylum. Human echinococcosis is an infectious disease caused by the following species: E. granulosus, E. multilocularis, E. vogeli or E. oligarthrus.
Echinococcus multilocularis, the fox tapeworm, is a small cyclophyllid tapeworm found extensively in the northern hemisphere. E. multilocularis, along with other members of the Echinococcus genus, produce diseases known as echinococcosis. Unlike E. granulosus,E. multilocularis produces many small cysts that spread throughout the internal organs of the infected animal. The resultant disease is called Alveolar echinococcosis, and is caused by ingesting the eggs of E. multilocularis.
Dipylidium caninum, also called the flea tapeworm, double-pored tapeworm, or cucumber tapeworm is a cyclophyllid cestode that infects organisms afflicted with fleas and canine chewing lice, including dogs, cats, and sometimes human pet-owners, especially children.
Dwarf tapeworm is a cosmopolitan species though most common in temperate zones, and is one of the most common cestodes infecting humans, especially children.
The Taeniidae are a family of tapeworms. It is the largest family representing the order Cyclophyllidea. It includes many species of medical and veterinary importance, as Taenia solium, Taenia saginata, and Echinococcus granulosus. The Taeniidae are parasites of mammals and many are infectious to humans.
Taenia pisiformis, commonly called the rabbit tapeworm, is an endoparasitic tapeworm which causes infection in lagomorphs, rodents, and carnivores. Adult T. pisiformis typically occur within the small intestines of the definitive hosts, the carnivores. Lagomorphs, the intermediate hosts, are infected by fecal contamination of grasses and other food sources by the definitive hosts. The larval stage is often referred to as Cysticercus pisiformis and is found on the livers and peritoneal cavities of the intermediate hosts. T. pisiformis can be found worldwide.
Eucestoda, commonly referred to as tapeworms, is the larger of the two subclasses of flatworms in the class Cestoda. Larvae have six posterior hooks on the scolex (head), in contrast to the ten-hooked Cestodaria. All tapeworms are endoparasites of vertebrates, living in the digestive tract or related ducts. Examples are the pork tapeworm with a human definitive host, and pigs as the secondary host, and Moniezia expansa, the definitive hosts of which are ruminants.
Spirometra erinaceieuropaei is a parasitic tapeworm that infects domestic animals and humans. The medical term for this infection in humans and other animals is sparganosis. Morphologically, these worms are similar to other worms in the genus Spirometra. They have a long body consisting of three sections: the scolex, the neck, and the strobilia. They have a complex life cycle that consists of three hosts, and can live in varying environments and bodily tissues. Humans can contract this parasite in three main ways. Historically, humans are considered a paratenic host; however, the first case of an adult S. erinaceieuropaei infection in humans was reported in 2017. Spirometra tapeworms exist worldwide and infection is common in animals, but S. erinaceieuropaei infections are rare in humans. Treatment for infection typically includes surgical removal and anti-worm medication.
Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of many similar units known as proglottids—essentially packages of eggs which are regularly shed into the environment to infect other organisms. Species of the other subclass, Cestodaria, are mainly fish infecting parasites.
Coenurosis is a parasitic infection that results when humans ingest the eggs of dog tapeworm species Taenia multiceps, T. serialis, T. brauni, or T. glomerata.
Coenurosis, also known as caenurosis, coenuriasis, gid or sturdy, is a parasitic infection that develops in the intermediate hosts of some tapeworm species. It is caused by the coenurus, the larval stage of these tapeworms. The disease occurs mainly in sheep and other ungulates, but it can also occur in humans by accidental ingestion of tapeworm eggs.
Taenia serialis, also known as a canid tapeworm, is found within canines such as foxes and dogs. Adult T. serialis are parasites of carnivores, particularly dogs, with herbivorous lagomorph mammals such as rabbits and hares, serving as intermediate hosts. In definitive hosts, T. serialis is acquired by eating tissues from a variety of intermediate hosts. Accidental infection of humans though, can occur when eggs are ingested from food or water contaminated with dog feces and the human then becomes the T. serialis intermediate host.
Taenia hydatigena is one of the adult forms of the canine and feline tapeworm. This infection has a worldwide geographic distribution. Humans with taeniasis can infect other humans or animal intermediate hosts by eggs and gravid proglottids passed in the feces.
Echinococcus vogeli is a small cyclophyllid tapeworm found in Central and South America. E. vogeli, as well as other members of the genus Echinococcus, produce a disease called echinococcosis. Echinococcosis, also known has hydatidosis, is a result of ingesting the eggs of the genus Echinococcus. E. vogeli is similar to E. multilocularis in that both species produces many small cysts that spread throughout the internal organs of the infected animal. The ingestion of E. vogeli eggs, and the spreading of the cysts through infected host, will results in Polycystic Echinococcosis.
