TAPEWORMS (CESTODES)

TAPEWORMS (CESTODES)


Tapeworms are flat worms that live in the intestinal tracts of their hosts. Adult tapeworms cause little damage to their hosts beyond robbing the host of some micronutrients, such as vitamins. Adult tapeworms are visible to the naked eye and range in size from 0.04 inches to 50 feet long. An infection of tapeworms is called cestodiasis.








TRANSMISSION


Adult tapeworm segments are passed in the host’s feces (Figure 41). These segments look like cucumber seeds or grains of rice and are sometimes seen around the anus of the host or in the feces. After the segments are passed, they can move around. They eventually dry up and release egg packets. The egg packets are then eaten by flea or louse larvae, and hatch in the larvae’s small intestines. The larval form of the tapeworm then penetrates the intestinal wall of its tiny host and forms cysts in the body cavity. As the flea or louse matures, the tapeworm larva matures, to an infective, cystic stage. The final host is infected by eating a flea or louse infected with immature tapeworms (Figure 42).








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Oct 1, 2016 | Posted by in EXOTIC, WILD, ZOO | Comments Off on TAPEWORMS (CESTODES)

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