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Clinical Microbiology Reviews, January 2009, p. 146-160, Vol. 22, No. 1
0893-8512/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CMR.00033-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Update on the Human Broad Tapeworm (Genus Diphyllobothrium), Including Clinical Relevance

Tomás Scholz,1* Hector H. Garcia,2 Roman Kuchta,1 and Barbara Wicht3,4

Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovská 31, 370 05 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic,1 Department of Microbiology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and Cysticercosis Unit, Instituto de Ciencias Neurológicas and Instituto Peruano de Parasitología Clinica y Experimental, Av. H. Delgado 430, SMP, Lima 31, Peru,2 Istituto Cantonale di Microbiologia, Via Mirasole 22a, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland,3 Université de Genève, Département de Biologie Végétale, Quai Ernset-Ansermet 30, 1211 Genève, Switzerland4

Summary: Tapeworms (Cestoda) continue to be an important cause of morbidity in humans worldwide. Diphyllobothriosis, a human disease caused by tapeworms of the genus Diphyllobothrium, is the most important fish-borne zoonosis caused by a cestode parasite. Up to 20 million humans are estimated to be infected worldwide. Besides humans, definitive hosts of Diphyllobothrium include piscivorous birds and mammals, which represent a significant zoonotic reservoir. The second intermediate hosts include both freshwater and marine fish, especially anadromous species such as salmonids. The zoonosis occurs most commonly in countries where the consumption of raw or marinated fish is a frequent practice. Due to the increasing popularity of dishes utilizing uncooked fish, numerous cases of human infections have appeared recently, even in the most developed countries. As many as 14 valid species of Diphyllobothrium can cause human diphyllobothriosis, with D. latum and D. nihonkaiense being the most important pathogens. In this paper, all taxa from humans reported are reviewed, with brief information on their life history and their current distribution. Data on diagnostics, epidemiology, clinical relevance, and control of the disease are also summarized. The importance of reliable identification of human-infecting species with molecular tools (sequences of mitochondrial genes) as well as the necessity of epidemiological studies aimed at determining the sources of infections are pointed out.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branisovská 31, 370 05 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic. Phone: 420 38 53 10 351. Fax: 420 38 53 10 388. E-mail: tscholz{at}paru.cas.cz

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, January 2009, p. 146-160, Vol. 22, No. 1
0893-8512/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CMR.00033-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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