Broad Fish

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Broad Fish Tapeworm
By Lauren Slater
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Index

• Definition of the tapeworm
• Classification
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Reproduction
• Life Cycle
• Hosts
• Diagnosis
• Symptoms
• Treatment Control
• Statistics
• Other Pictures
• Work Cited

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• The broad fish tapeworm, scientific name is
  Diphyllobothruim Latum which represents one of
  the biggest tapeworm species. They are called
  broad fish tapeworms because the reproductive
  segments are usually broader than they are long.
  The adult is yellowish-gray in color and can live
  in humans for 20 years. It often grows to lengths
  of 3-7 feet and is capable of reaching 30 feet in
  length. It is the longest tapeworm in humans with
  as many as 4,000 segments. Most of the body is
  filled with male and female reproductive organs
  allowing it to produce a lot of eggs and it can
  lay as many as 1,000,000 a day.

URL http//www.emedicine.com/ped/topic597.htm
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Classification

• Kingdom AnimaliaPhylum PlatyhelminthsClass
  CestodaOrder PseudophyllideaFamily
  DiphyllobothriidaeGenus Diphyllobothrium
  Species latumCommon name Broad Fish Tapeworm.

URL http//www.soton.ac.uk/ceb/Students/Diphyllo
bothrium.htm
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Anatomy Physiology

• These worms are bilaterally symmetrical flatworms
  that lack an intestinal tract and are able to
  absorb nutrients through the outer covering or
  coat of skin of an animal or the membrane
  enclosing an organ.
• The adult consists of a head called the scolex
  which has dorsal and ventral suckers and attaches
  to the mucosa of the intestine and the head is
  the smallest part of the worm which is less than
  1mm. They also have a neck and a germinal region
  that consists of a string of separate individual
  segments that have a full set of progressively
  maturing reproductive organs and is where both
  male and female gonads are found. It has a uterus
  which is in the center of the worm and a
  operculum.

Scolex and Uterus
URL http//www.parasitecleanse.com/fishtapeworms.
htm
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Anatomy Physiology

• These tapeworms grow when segments bud from the
  scolex. The segments enlarge by developing large
  numbers of eggs that are later shed in the stool.
  
• They are hermaphroditic and capable of
  self-fertilization, but their eggs must be passed
  into an aquatic environment to complete their
  development and become infective.
• They do not have a digestive tract at any stage
  of their development, so they absorb nutrients.
  Usually vitamin B-12 and folic acid through the
  skin.
• They give off toxic waste which causes damage to
  the body. They exchange nutrients and waste
  through their body covering. The covering is
  covered by small projections called microtriches,
  which lie in nearness to the hosts intestinal
  villi and greatly increase the absorption area of
  the flatworm.

URL http//www.parasitecleanse.com/fishtapeworms.
htm
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Reproduction

• Each segment on the worm contains a complete set
  of male and female reproductive organs. Some of
  the reproductive organs

The Female Reproductive System Ovary Uterus Ootype
(where egg is formed) Uterine Pore Vagina Vitelli
ne Glands (makes the yolk and shell of the
eggs) Vitelline Duct Mehlis Gland (unicellular
shell gland)
The Male Reproductive System Testes Vas
Deferens Cirrus (opening anterior to the vagina
in a common genital atrium)
URL http//www.path.cam.ac.uk/schisto/Tapes/Tape
s_Gen/human.tapeworms.html
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Reproduction

• Fertilization is internal
• Most of them require cross-fertilization between
  two worms
• Some of them can self-fertilize between two
  segments of the same worm.
• Eggs develop into embryos with hard outer shells
  that dont hatch until they are eaten by a
  suitable intermediate host.
• Eggs leave the hosts body through the feces.
• Worms can release 3,000-1,000,000 eggs/day

URL http//www.path.cam.ac.uk/schisto/Tapes/Tape
s_Gen/human.tapeworms.html
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Life Cycle

• The eggs develop in water and 2 to 3 weeks to
  ripen and hatch into free swimming larvae which
  are eaten by the first intermediate host
  (copepod).
• Copepods are eaten by fishes within which further
  development occurs.
• A fish eating mammal such as a human, ingests the
  infected intermediate hosts, and development
  leads to maturation of the adult worm.
• Adult worms living in the intestine of the
  definitive host will be producing eggs in 1 to 2
  weeks in which it will be passed from the hosts
  body during elimination of feces. This is called
  the diagnostic stage.

URL http//www.parasitecleanse.com/fishtapewo
rms.htm
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URL http//www.parasitecleanse.com/fishtapeworms.
htm
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Hosts

• Host Species
• Definitive Hosts
• Mink, humans, dogs, cats, bears, and other fish
  eating mammals
• First Intermediate Hosts
• Copepod-microcrustacean such as hydra or cyclops
• Second intermediate Hosts
• Freshwater fish such as pike, perch, carp, salmon
  , and others.

URLhttp//www.emedicine.com/ped/topic597.htm
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Diagnosis
Diagnostic Findings

• Infected patients sometimes pass visible segments
  of worm in stool is the basis of specific
  diagnosis.
• CBC may reveal anemia with large red blood cells

Eggs of Diphyllobothrium latum. These eggs are
oval or ellipsoidal, with at one end an operculum
and the opposite end a small knob. The eggs are
passed in the stool. Size range 58 to 76 µm by
40 to 51 µm. 
URL http//www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Diphylloboth
riasis.asp?bodyFrames/A-F/Diphyllobothriasis/body
_Diphyllobothriasis_mic1.htm
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More Diagnostic Findings
Proglottids of Diphyllobothrium latum.  These
proglottids tend to be passed in strands of
variable length in the stool.  The proglottids
tend to be broader than long. 
The proglottid is broader than it is long size 2
to 4 mm long by 10 to 12 mm wide uterus coiled
in rosette appearance genital pore at the center
of the proglottid.
URL http//www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Diphylloboth
riasis.asp?bodyFrames/A-F/Diphyllobothriasis/body
_Diphyllobothriasis_mic1.htm
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Symptoms

• The majority of infected individuals have no
  symptoms. Symptoms seen with heavy infections may
  include
• Abdominal discomfort
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Abdominal pain due to intestinal blockage by
  worms
• Fatigue due to anemia
• Numbness and tingling in their limbs
• Confusion or dementia

URL http//www.emedicine.com/ped/topic597.htm
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Treatment Control

• There are a large number of possible drugs
  available to treat this disease, the two main
  ones used are Niclosamide and praziquantel, both
  of which are highly effective.
• Vitamin B-12 injections or supplements may be
  needed for the treatment of megaloblastic anemia.
  
• Effective control measures include cooking fish
  properly or freezing the fish down below -12 C
  for a minimum of 24 hrs.
• In addition, properly treated and managed swage
  is also important.

URL http//www.emedicine.com/ped/topic597.htm
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Statistics

• Can grow up to 35 feet long and live 10 years in
  humans.
• They believe the ancestors of human became hosts
  to tapeworms about 2 million years ago in the
  savannas of Africa by preying on antelope and
  other wild creatures.
• The largest broad fish tapeworm recorded inside
  of a human was 60ft long.

URLhttp//www.emedicine.com/ped/topic597.htm
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• The ribbon-like fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium
  latum is displayed in a glass petri dish.

URL http//www.merck.com/mmhe/sec17/ch196/ch196k.
html
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The tapeworm in the intestine.
URL http//www.gastrolab.net/ya134n.jpg
http//cal.vet.upenn.edu/paralab/labs/6_39.gif
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Work Cited

• Barr, Iain. Diphyllobothriasis Latum. n.pag.
  On-line. Internet. 1 Dec. 2004. Available WWW
  http//www.soton.ac.uk/ceb/Students/Diphyllobothr
  ium.htm
• DPDx. Diagnostic Findings Diphyllobothriasis.
  n.pag. On-line. Internet. 1 Dec. 2004. Available
  WWW http//www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Diphylloboth
  riasis.asp?bodyFrames/A-F/Diphyllobothriasis/body
  _Diphyllobothriasis_mic1.htm
• eMedicine. Diphyllobothriasis. 12 July 2002
  n.pag. On-line. Internet. 1 Dec. 2004. Available
  WWW http//www.emedicine.com/ped/topic597.htm
• MERCK. Tapeworm Infection. n.pag. On-line.
  Internet. 1 Dec. 2004. Available WWW
  http//www.merck.com/mmhe/sec17/ch196/ch196k.html
  
• Stewart, Terry. Cestodes and Cestode Infections
  of Man. 5 Oct. 1998 n.pag. On-line. Internet. 1
  Dec. 2004 Available WWW http//www.path.cam.ac.uk
  /schisto/Tapes/Tapes_Gen/human.tapeworms.html
• The Life Tree. Fish Tapeworms. n.pag. On-line.
  Internet. 1 Dec. 2004. Available WWW
  http//www.parasitecleanse.com/fishtapeworms.htm