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Tapeworm Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Cestoda)--neglected or emerging human parasite?

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A total number of 14 valid species of Diphyllobothrium tapeworms have been described in literature to be capable of causing diphyllobothriosis, with D. latum being the major causative agent of all human infections. However, recent data indicate that some of these infections, especially when diagnosed solely on the basis of morphology, have been identified with this causative agent incorrectly, confusing other Diphyllobothrium species with D. latum. Another widely distributed species, D. dendriticum, has never been considered as a frequent parasite of man, even though it is found commonly throughout arctic and subarctic regions parasitizing piscivorous birds and mammals. Recent cases of Europeans infected with this cestode called into question the actual geographic distribution of this tapeworm, largely ignored by medical parasitologists. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: On the basis of revision of more than 900 available references and a description and revision of recent European human cases using morphological and molecular (cox1) data supplemented by newly characterized D. dendriticum sequences, we updated the current knowledge of the life-cycle, geographic distribution, epidemiological status, and molecular diagnostics of this emerging causal agent of zoonotic disease of man. CONCLUSIONS: The tapeworm D. dendriticum represents an example of a previously neglected, probably underdiagnosed parasite of man with a potential to spread globally. Recent cases of diphyllobothriosis caused by D. dendriticum in Europe (Netherlands, Switzerland and Czech Republic), where the parasite has not been reported previously, point out that causative agents of diphyllobothriosis and other zoonoses can be imported throughout the world. Molecular tools should be used for specific and reliable parasite diagnostics, and also rare or non-native species should be considered. This will considerably help improve our knowledge of the distribution and epidemiology of these human parasites.

SUBMITTER: Kuchta R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3873255 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tapeworm Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Cestoda)--neglected or emerging human parasite?

Kuchta Roman R Brabec Jan J Kubáčková Petra P Scholz Tomáš T

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20131226 12

<h4>Background</h4>A total number of 14 valid species of Diphyllobothrium tapeworms have been described in literature to be capable of causing diphyllobothriosis, with D. latum being the major causative agent of all human infections. However, recent data indicate that some of these infections, especially when diagnosed solely on the basis of morphology, have been identified with this causative agent incorrectly, confusing other Diphyllobothrium species with D. latum. Another widely distributed s ...[more]

PMID: 24386497

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Project description:BackgroundIn Europe, the tapeworm Dibothriocephalus latus (syn. Diphyllobothrium latum) is a well-known etiological agent of human diphyllobothriosis, which spreads by the consumption of raw fish flesh infected by plerocercoids (tapeworm's larval stage). However, the process of parasite establishment in both intermediate and definitive hosts is poorly understood. This study was targeted mainly on the scolex (anterior part) of the plerocercoid of this species, which facilitates penetration of the parasite in intermediate paratenic fish hosts, and subsequently its attachment to the intestine of the definitive host.MethodsPlerocercoids were isolated from the musculature of European perch (Perca fluviatilis) caught in Italian alpine lakes. Parasites were examined using confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Immunofluorescence tagging was held on whole mount larvae.ResultsThe organisation of the central and peripheral nervous system was captured in D. latus plerocercoids, including the ultrastructure of the nerve cells possessing large dense neurosecretory granules. Two types of nerve fibres run from the body surface toward the nerve plexus located in the parenchyma on each side of bothria. One type of these fibres was found to be serotoninergic and possessed large subtegumental nerve cell bodies. A well-developed gland apparatus, found throughout the plerocercoid parenchyma, produced heterogeneous granules with lucent core packed in a dense layer. Three different types of microtriches occurred on the scolex and body surface of plerocercoids of D. latus: (i) uncinate spinitriches; (ii) coniform spinitriches; and (iii) capilliform filitriches. Non-ciliated sensory receptors were observed between the distal cytoplasm of the tegument and the underlying musculature.ConclusionsConfocal laser scanning microscopy and electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) showed the detailed microanatomy of the nervous system in the scolex of plerocercoids, and also several differences in the larval stages compared with adult D. latus. These features, i.e. well-developed glandular system and massive hook-shaped uncinate spinitriches, are thus probably required for plerocercoids inhabiting fish hosts and also for their post-infection attachment in the human intestine.

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Tapeworm Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Cestoda)--neglected or emerging human parasite?

Publications

Tapeworm Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Cestoda)--neglected or emerging human parasite?

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