ICL 3.1: Worms & Cestodes Flashcards
which groups are at risk for parasite infection?
- minorities
- immigrants
- poor
- disadvantaged communities
what are the parasitic infections we are most worried about?
- chagas disease
- neurocysticerosis
- toxocariasis
- toxoplasmosis
- trichomoniasis
what are the two groups of helminths?
- platyhelminths = flatworms –> cestodes (tapeworms) and trematodes (flukes)
- nemathelminthes = roundworms –> nematodes
how are cestodes transmitted?
cestodes = tapeworms
ALL cestodes are transmitted by ingestion
what are the characteristics of the cestode body?
cestode = tapeworm
may be METERS long
scolex has hooks, rostellum, and suckers
neck region = proglottids form
strobila = string of proglottidesthat are immature near neck and mature are you get farther away
where are adult cestodes found in the body?
adults are found in the intestine
but virtually no clinical effect!!
what form of a cestode causes disease?
adults are found in the intestine with virtually no clinical effect
it’s the larvae that hatch from eggs after they’re eaten by intermediate hosts that are the problem
the larvae penetrate through intestinal wall into tissues!
the most damaging disease is caused by larvae
what is the diagnostic feature of cestode infection?
eggs or proglottids in feces
how are cestodes transmitted?
by ingestion!!!!
which cestodes are ingested and cause intestinal infection?
- T. solium
- T. saginata
- Dipiyllobothrium latum
- Diplydium caninum
what is the common name for diphyllobothriasis?
fish tapeworm
they’re a cestode = tapeworm
what is the largest human tapeworm?
diphyllobothrium latum = fish tapeworm
what are the definitive hosts of diphyllobothrium latum?
diphyllobothrium latum = fish tapeworm
humans, bears, minks & other animals
definitive host = an organism which supports the adult or sexually reproductive form of a parasite
what are the intermediate hosts of diphyllobothrium latum?
2 intermediate hosts: larval stages in water, picked up by water flea (crustacean), then by fish (source of human infection)
we eat the infected fish and that’s how we get sick
intermediate host = an organism that supports the immature or nonreproductive forms of a parasite
what’s the transmission cycle of diphyllobothrium latum?
- unembryonated eggs are passed in feces
- eggs embryonate in water
- coracidia hatch from eggs and are ingested by crustaceans
- procercoid larvae in body cavity of crustaceans
- infected crustaceans are ingested by small freshwater fish
- predator fish eats infected small fish
- humans eat raw/undercooked infected fish
- adults end up in the small intestine
- proglottids release immature eggs
cycle starts over
what are the symptoms of diphyllobothrium latum?
virtually no clinical effect
epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting
occasional intestinal obstruction, diarrhea, and abdominal pain
very occasionally it can cause low levels of B12 = megaloblastic anemia
how do you diagnose diphyllobothrium latum?
operculated eggs with knob on the bottom of the shell or proglottids in feces
egg looks like a white oval with white speckles all inside it
how do you treat diphyllobothrium latum?
Niclosamide and Praziquantel
what are the definitive hosts of dipylidium caninum?
humans!!
pet-owners (cats and dogs)
children
what are the intermediate hosts of dipylidium caninum?
fleas
how do humans get dipylidium caninum?
humans get infected by ingesting fleas infected with cysticercoid
what is the life cycle of dipylidium caninum?
- proglottids are passed intact in the feces or emerge from perianal region of either animal/human hosts
- egg packets containing embryonated eggs are ingested by larval stage of flee
- oncospheres hatch from the eggs and penetrate the intestinal wall of the larvae – cysticercoid larvae develop in the body cavity
- adult flea harbours the infective cysticercoid
- host is infected by ingesting fleas containing cysticercoids
OR
animals can transmit the infected fleas to humans
- humans, normally children, acquire the infection by ingesting the infected flea
- adult in the small intestine –> the scolex attaches in intestine
what are the symptoms of dipylidium caninum?
virtually no clinical effect
can see abdominal discomfort, anal pruritus, and diarrhea