National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Bothriocephalosis


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The following summary is from Orphanet, a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs.
orphanet

Orpha Number: 128

Definition
Bothriocephalosis is a mammalian cosmopolitan intestinal parasitosis. In addition to non-specific digestive problems (nausea, abdominal pain, lack of appetite), bothriocephalosis provokes an anaemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency that resembles Biermer anaemia (anaemia characterised by abnormally large red blood cells).

Epidemiology
The prevalence is Europe is unknown but more than 10 cases are reported each year, principally from the Italian, Swiss and French Alps.

Etiology
It is an adult cestodosis caused by the large (more than 10 metres) fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum. The life cycle of the parasite is complex and involves two intermediate hosts: a microscopic crustacean, followed by a freshwater fish. Mammals are contaminated through eating fleshy parts of lightly cooked, smoked or undersalted fish.

Diagnostic methods
Diagnosis is made by examination of the stools.

Management and treatment
Standard tapeworm treatments (niclosamide or praziquantel) are effective at treating this parasitosis.

Visit the Orphanet disease page for more resources.
Last updated: 12/1/2006

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

In-Depth Information

  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.

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