Gross Human Parasites IV - Sparganosis for the Flesh-Lover

Keeping pets at home? Love sushi? Enjoy frog-congee? 

Sparganosis is a parasitic infection, the culprit is a type of tapeworm belonging to the genus Spirometra. Mammals such as dogs, cats and raccoons are the definite host (final host) of the parasites. 

Copepods, Frog, Cat. (The first, second and definite hosts)

The adult Spirometra living in the intestines of their hosts lay uncountable eggs which discharge during hosts' defecation. The eggs are then consumed by copepods, the first intermediate hosts; amphibians such as snakes and frogs preying on copepods are the second intermediate hosts. Within the first intermediate hosts, the eggs hatches and the larvae live in the body cavities of copepods; after passing to the second intermediate hosts, the larvae continue to proliferate and penetrate into the muscles and subcutaneous tissues of the hosts. The second intermediate hosts of this parasites are eventually consumed by wild carnivores such as dogs and cats, and the parasites mature in their definite hosts and complete their life-cycle. 

And how do human get Spargonosis? 

Human are actually the accidental hosts of Spirometra (or maybe not accidental). 

• consumption of raw water from rivers or lakes 
• open wounds on body contacted with Spirometra sources such as animal feces or raw flesh 
• consumption of uncooked or not-fully-cooked flesh 

Once infected, the parasites will move to various organs such as eyes and brains of the patients or subcutaneous tissues in various body parts. No symptoms will be seen from the beginning, and eventually as the parasites grow, bulges (nodules) will develop on the infected regions along with pain. For infection in the eyes, patients' eyes will bulge out. For infection in the brains, neurological symptoms such as loss of motor control can occur. 

A boy with ocular Sparganosis
Source: click here

Surgical removal of adult Spirometra from eye. 

It has been reported in China rural areas that villagers believed in old traditional methods of applying raw frog flesh to wounds to speed up recovery, and thus resulted in being infected by Spirometra. Majority of human Spirometra infection cases occur in Japan, Korea and China.

Retracting an adult Spirometra from a frog.

Antibiotics have been given to patients infected with Spirometra, however this is not really beneficial as a cure. The best way to get rid of the parasites is through surgery. 

Care For Your Pets - Roundworms in Dogs

Do you have a family dog at home? If your answer is yes, this is a post you might be interested to know more about parasites that might live within your dogs.

Roundworm is the most common kind of infectious parasite in puppies and dogs; if not treated, roundworm infection in puppies can be fatal.

The Dog Roundworm, Toxocara canis, lives within puppies and dogs and the adult worm is ranging from 9 to18cm (about 3.5 to 7 inches) in length. A female can lay about 200,000 eggs of microscopic size daily. The eggs are protected by thick cell wall and can survive for months in the soil. These make roundworm infection highly transmittable among dogs.

There are several ways puppies and dogs can get roundworm infection. For puppies, prenatal infection is the most common type, whereby the roundworm larvae from the mother dogs migrate into the placenta and infect the developing puppies before birth. On the other hand, puppies can get infected through ingestion of mother’s milk that contains roundworm eggs. Puppies and dogs can also get infected by ingesting eggs in the soil, this is the most frequent route of infection in adult dogs.

Life cycle of roundworm in puppies (of age up to 3 months):

• Step 1: Roundworm eggs ingested by the puppies (through milk or from soil) enter the stomach and then hatch in the small intestines.    
• Step 2: The larvae travel through the bloodstream and enter the lungs and liver of the pup.
• Step 3: After residing in the lungs, the larvae move their way up the windpipes and are swallowed by puppies. 
• Step 4: The larvae develop into adult worms in the intestines, completing their life-cycle. The adult worms mate pass eggs into the faeces of puppies. (Fortunate to mention that the eggs in the faeces will only become infective after 3 to 4 weeks of incubation in the soil)     

Roundworms in stools
Picture source: click here

For older dogs, they have developed immunity against the roundworm, therefore very few larvae will be able to complete their life cycle within the dog. If any larvae completed the life cycle, the adult worms will reside in various body tissues in the dog, and develop a tough shell (encyst) that protects them against the host’s immune system. At this stage, even the de-wormer might not be able to kill the worms. However, during pregnancy, the encysted worms get activated again and migrate to the placenta to infect the next generation.

In adult dogs, roundworm infection can be no symptom at all; while in puppies some symptoms might be vomiting, diarrhea, dull-coat and bloated belly. Worms might appear in the vomit and the feces, which look like white threads or white spaghetti strands that wriggle.
In general, an infection of roundworm can be gotten rid of with the use of de-wormers prescribed by vet, and your doggy will be back to health in no time! HOWEVER, severe infection in young puppies can be fatal, and roundworm infection is not only contagious among dogs, there are risks whereby roundworm transmits from dogs to human. Be warned!

For more information on roundworms in Human, click here: Roundworm in Human