Raw Parasite

Fish Tapeworm

Diphyllobothrium

The fish tapeworms host is both humans and animals that eat raw fish. Because of the changing diets around the world, this parasite is emerging in new places, like Brazil. Infections are most common in countries where eating raw fish is common e.g. Japan, North America, Asia and parts of Europe. There is no clear point in time when Diphyllobothrium latum and related species was “discovered” in humans, but it is clear that diphyllobothriasis has been endemic in human populations for a very long time

Cause

This parasite is a tapeworm infection, with a tapeworm species called Diphyllobothrium latum. The infection is called diphyllobothriasis and usually results from eating undercooked contaminated fish.

After ingestion of the infected fish, the plerocercoids develop into immature adults and then into mature adult tapeworms which will live in the small intestine. The adults attach to the intestinal lining by means of the two bilateral grooves of their scolex. The adults can reach up to 30 feet in length. One or several of the tape-like proglottid segments regularly detach from the main body of the worm and release immature eggs in fresh water to start the cycle over again. Immature eggs are discharged from the proglottids (up to 1,000,000 eggs per day per worm) and are passed in the feces.

Symptoms

Symptoms include; diarrhoea, weight loss, abdominal distension, intermittent abdominal cramping, vomiting, and flatulence. Some patients may develop a deficiency of vitamin B 12 that could lead to, in very few cases, to megaglobalistic anemia. If the infection is really severe, intestinal obstruction may develop as a complication.

Medication

The medication used to get rid of this parasite is either using either niclosamide or praziquantel. The incubation period in humans, after which eggs begin to appear in the feces is typically 4-6 weeks, but can vary from as short as 2 weeks to as long as 2 years. The tapeworm can live up to 20 years.

Sources
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex10097
http://www.medindia.net/Patients/PatientInfo/tapeworm_fish.htm