289 - Tapeworms (Cestodes)

Abstract

In humans, parasitic cestode infections occur in either of two forms: as mature tapeworms residing in the gastrointestinal tract or as one or more larval cysts (variously called hydatidosis, cysticercosis, coenurosis, or sparganosis) embedded in liver, lung, muscle, brain, eye, or other tissues. The form taken by the infecting parasite depends on which cestode species causes the infection and, to a lesser extent, on the route by which the infection was acquired. In this chapter, parasite biology and the immunology of cestode infection are discussed followed by descriptions of individual parasite species: intestinal tapeworms (e.g., Diphyllobothrium latum, Hymenolepis nana, Taenia saginata, and Taenia solium) and invasive cestode parasites (cysticercosis [T. solium], hydatid and alveolar cyst disease [Echinococcus spp.], sparganosis, and coenurosis [Taenia multiceps]). Diagnosis and therapy, outlined briefly under the individual parasite headings, are discussed in greater detail at the end of each section.