Platyhelminths

Cestoidea

Parasitology Dept.

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Cestodes
General Characteristics

 Also called tapeworm

 Elongated body - divided into proglottids,
grouped into: immature, mature, and gravid
from the neck downward
 The proglottids form a strobila
 The length of an adult varies widely from
several mm to over 10m, but rarely exceeds
20m
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Cestodes
General Characteristics

 Endoparasites, adults live in intestines of

vertebrates
 No digestive tract, it takes in nutrients
through microvili
 The head is called scolex, and attaches to
the intestinal wall o/t host with suckers or
bothria
 Larval stages in 1 or 2 intermediate hosts
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Cestodes
Tissue Cestodes

 Tissue cestodes
(extra-intestinal) Disease
• Echinococcus grqnulosa • Hydatid disease
• E. multilocularis • Hydatid disease (rare)
• Multiceps spp • Coenurosis (rare)
• Spirometra mansonoides • Sparganosis (rare)
• Diphyllobothrium spp • Sparganosis
• Taenia solium • Cysticercosis

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Cestodes
Intestinal Cestodes

 Intestinal Cestodes Cases

• Diphyllobothrium latum 16 million
• Taenia solium 5 million
• Taenia saginata 76 million
• Hymenolepis nana 36 million
• Hymenolepis diminuta Rare
• Dipylidium canis Rare

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Tapeworms

 Hymenolepis nana
• Dwarf tapeworm (upto 40mm - largely
children)
 Taenia saginata
• Beef tapeworm (upto 25m)
 Taenia solium
• Pork tapeworm (upto 7m)
World-wide distribution
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Diphyllobothriidae
General

 Diphyllobothrium latum
• Broadfish tapeworm
 Distributed especially in northern Europe, Siberia,
and northern America
 Definitive host
• humans/dogs/cats/pigs/bears/otters, seals etc
 First intermediate host
• Copepods (Cyclops and Diaptomus)
 Second intermediate host
• trout/salmon/perch/pike
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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

 Adult is usually 3-10m long, but sometimes can be

as long as 25m
 The scolex is small, with a ventral and a dorsal
bothrium (suctorial grooves)
 Each worm usually contains 2,000 to 4,000 (up to
5,000) proglottids, which are wide as the name
indicates
 Gravid segments: width is bigger than length (2-
7mm x 15-20mm)

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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

 Genital pore is situated in the

ventroanterior o/t segment
 Two symmetrical lobulated ovaries are
posterior to the uterus
 The uterus is situated approximately in the
center of each segment, has a rossette
shape

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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

 Egg: ellipsoid shape, light operculum, contains

ovum cells
 Coracidium: cilliated, rounded form, contains
hexacanth embryo
 Procercoid: no cillia, longated, live in first
intermediate hosts
 Plerocercoid/sparganum: motile, made of
pseudosegments, coiled in the muscle of second
intermediate hosts

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Diphyllobothriidae
Morphology

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Diphyllobothriidae
Life cycle

1st I’mediate host

coracidiumprocercoid
Definitive host
Eggs passed outside
w/stool coracidium
2nd I’mediate host
procercoidplerocercoid
encysted in tissue and
muscle
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Diphyllobothriidae
Life cycle

 In fish procercoid penetrates intestinal

wall and then migrates to muscles
 Develops into plerocercoid (20-40mm) in
7-30 days with fully developed scolex
 In definitive host attaches to mucosa
 Grows at 30 proglottids a day
 Full sexual maturity in 3-5 weeks

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Hymenolepis nana
Dwarf Tapeworm

 Essentially parasites of rats, occasionally

infect humans, especially children
 Habitat is the intestine o/t final host
 The larva is called cysticercoid
 Intermediate host is not required
• infection via i’mediate host is rare
• i’mediate host: various insects, incl. fleas
 Distributed all over the world, most prevalent in
areas where temperatures are high and
sanitary conditions are poor
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Hymenolepis nana
Morphology

 Cysticercoid has hooks in the anterior part

 Maturation in 2-4 weeks
 Length depends on parasitemia, mostly only 1-3
cm
 Scolex has 4 suckers and a short rostellum with
20-30 retractable hooks
 Mature proglottid has three testes and a uterus
 Gravid proglottid is occupied by the uterus filled
w/ 100-200 eggs
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Hymenolepis nana
Morphology

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Hymenolepis nana
Morphology

 Eggs are released by breakage o/t uterus and

the proglottids
 Eggs immediately become infectious, contains
hexacanth embryo
 Egg is elliptical, average 50x40 m
 The eggshell and embryophore are thin and
almost colourless, slightly thickened at both
poles
 From each pole 4-8 threadlike structure called
polar filament run between the two envelopes
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Hymenolepis nana
Morphology

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Hymenolepis diminuta
Rat Tapeworm

 World-wide distribution
 Final host is mainly rats, occasionally
humans, dogs, or hamsters
 I’mediate host (vector) is various insects
 Habitat is the upper middle part of small
intestine

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Hymenolepis diminuta
Morphology

 Adults are 10-60 cm long

 The scolex has four suckers but no
hooks
 The structure of proglottids closely
resembles that of H. nana
 The larva is called H. diminuta
cysticercoid, differ from that of H. nana
in that this has no hooks
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Hymenolepis diminuta
Morphology

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Hymenolepis diminuta
Morphology

 The eggs are

spherical w/ diameter
60-80 m
 The nodes and
filamentous
substance are not
usually seen
 Contains hexacanth
embryo
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Taenia saginata
Beef Tapeworm

 Family Taeniidae
 Commonest taenia infection, noticed since
ancient times
 Widely distributed w/ the increase of beef
consumption
 Ingestion of raw or poorly cooked beef
 Final host: humans
 I’mediate host: bovidae
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Taenia saginata
Morphology

 Scolex has 4 suckers without hooks

 1-2k proglottids (lateral uterine branches 15-20
pairs, twice as much as T. solium)
 The shape o/t prog. changes from trapezoidal to
square, and then to rectangular as they develop
through the immature, mature, and gravid stages
 Genital pore is one for each segment in irregular
site

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Taenia saginata
Morphology

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Taenia saginata
Morphology

 Egg is elliptical
(viable up to 159 days)
 Egg contains an
oncosphere
(hexacanth
embryo) covered
by embryophore,
a thick wall w/
radial pattern
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Taenia saginata
Life Cycle

 Motile proglottids crawl through anus

during day
 Larvae digested & evaginates in small
intestine
 Larvae (onchospheres) hatch in cattle
intestine
 Migrate through villi via lymphatics/blood
to striated muscle o/t bovidae
 Develop into cysticerci (cysticercus bovis)33
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Taenia solium
Pork Tapeworm

 Recognised since biblical times

 The most dangerous taeniasis for human
 Risk of cysticercosis (cysticercus
cellulose)
 Widely distribution, closely associated w/
pigs

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Taenia solium
Morphology

 Morphologically
similar to, but
smaller than, T.
saginata
 The scolex has four
suckers and hooks
arranged around the
rostellum
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Taenia solium
Morphology

Scolex of Taenia solium with suckers and rostellar hooks

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Taenia solium
Morphology

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Taenia solium
Morphology

 Less than 1000 proglottids, body length is

ranging between 2 and 3 m
 The number of testes is far less than that
for T. saginata
 Less lateral uterine branches, about 7-12
pairs

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Taenia solium
Proglottid

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Taenia solium
Morphology

 The egg is
similar to that of
T. saginata, only
it is nearly
spherical while
the lattest is
elliptical

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Taenia spp.
Cysticercus

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Taenia solium
Life Cycle

 Final host is humans

 I’mediate host is mainly swine
 Evagination to be six hooked four suckers
larva (onchophere) in small intestine
 Attaches to mucosa (penetrates in cysticercosis)
 Matures in 5-12 weeks
 Usually long lived (25 years) single worm
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