Answer to the Parasite Case of the Week 676: Cestode, most likely Diphyllobothrium/Dibothriocephalus/Adenocephalus species. The CDC DPDx webpage on diphyllobothriasis explains how some of the names have changed for this group of tapeworms.
Unfortunately the specimen was not submitted to the laboratory and we therefore can't fully examine it. However, central uterine structure seen in the photo below is consistent with an adult tapeworm of the family Diphyllobothriidae:
3 comments:
Hey,
Thanks for the case.
I was thinking of either Dibothriocephalus or Taenia (treatment is the same so it only matters for us nerds). Why can't it be Taenia? Would the uterine structures rule out T.?
/Patrik
Hi Patrik,
We can't be 100% sure this isn't Taenia, but the presence of a dot-like uterine structure in the center of each proglottid is most consistent with dibothrio rather than Taenia. If this WAS Taenia, then these would have to be immature proglottids (since mature Taenia proglottids are longer than they are wide), and immature proglottids don't really have visible uterine structures like this. Thanks for writing to clarify!
Bobbi
Thanks a lot Bobbi and I hope you continue your great work for a long time!
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