Effective Treatments for Tapeworm Infection: What to Do

Characteristics and Life Cycle of Parasites

(1) Dog Tapeworm

The dog tapeworm primarily resides in the small intestines of dogs and cats, occasionally affecting humans. The eggs are round, transparent, and range in diameter from 35 to 50 micrometers. Both eggshells are thin, containing six oncospheres. Intermediate hosts include dog and cat fleas and lice. The gravid proglottids are excreted from the anus of dogs and cats, either through feces or directly onto the ground.

Upon breaking, the eggs are released and ingested by flea larvae. The oncospheres hatch in the larvae's intestines, migrate, and develop. By the time the flea larvae pupate into adults, they become cysticercoidlike. A single flea can carry up to 56 cysticercoidlike forms. Dogs and cats become infected with tapeworms when they consume infected fleas. It takes approximately three weeks for the infection to develop into adult worms. Children often become infected through close contact with dogs and cats, inadvertently ingesting contaminated fleas and lice. The disease is widespread globally, with no specific seasonal pattern. Hosts are diverse, with high infection rates in dogs and cats, and even wild animals like foxes and wolves can be infected. Humans, particularly children, are primarily affected. Mild infections may not show symptoms, but severe infections in puppies can lead to loss of appetite, poor digestion, diarrhea, constipation, and anal itching. In extreme cases, intestinal obstruction may occur. The gravid proglottids can be found in a dog's feces, and the characteristic egg capsules can be observed under a microscope, leading to a diagnosis.

(2) Taenia Solium

This tapeworm also resides in the small intestines of dogs and cats. The eggs are nearly oval, measuring about 3839 micrometers in length and 0.30.35 micrometers in width. Intermediate hosts include pigs, cattle, sheep, and deer. The larvae, known as cysticercoids, commonly inhabit the mesentery, peritoneum, liver, and diaphragm of pigs, cattle, and sheep. In severe infections, they can even enter the pleural cavity and infect the lungs.

(3) Taenia Multiceps

The segments of this tapeworm have a sawtoothed edge, hence the name "sawtoothed tapeworm." The eggs are round, with a diameter of 3237 micrometers. The tapeworm resides in the small intestines of dogs, occasionally in cats, with rodents like rabbits as intermediate hosts. The larvae, known as multiceps cysticerci, inhabit the liver, omentum, and mesentery of rabbits, often in large numbers, forming grapelike clusters.

(4) Multiceps Multiceps

There are three species of tapeworms that reside in the small intestines of canid animals:

① Multiceps Multiceps

The larvae are known as multiceps plerocercoids. This tapeworm can reach 4080 centimeters in length, composed of 200250 segments. The eggs are round, with a diameter of 2037 micrometers. The larvae reside in the brains of sheep, goats, cattle, yaks, camels, and occasionally in the medulla oblongata or bone marrow of humans.

② Continus Multiceps

This tapeworm is 2075 centimeters long, with a rostellum having 2632 hooks arranged in two rows. The larvae are known as continuus plerocercoids, commonly found in the subcutaneous tissue, muscles, abdominal organs, myocardium, and lungs of wild and domestic rodents, forming cysts the size of a child's fist containing several scolexes.

③ Stiles Multiceps

This tapeworm is 20 centimeters long, with a rostellum having two rows of small hooks, totaling 32. The eggs are nearly round, with a diameter of 3236 micrometers. The larvae are known as stiles plerocercoids, found in the muscles, subcutaneous tissue, pleural cavity, and esophagus of sheep, occasionally in the heart and skeletal muscles.

(5) Echinococcus Granulosus

This tapeworm consists of a single scolex and 3 or 4 segments, not exceeding 7 millimeters in length. The scolex is not large, with a rostellum having 2850 hooks. The eggs are about 3236 micrometers by 2530 micrometers, with a thick, radiating germ membrane on the outer layer.

The larvae of Echinococcus granulosus, known as echinococci, reside in the liver, lungs, and other organs of various animals and humans, causing severe echinococcosis (hydatid disease). The definitive hosts are carnivorous canids like dogs, wolves, and foxes, which reside in the small intestines. Intermediate hosts include herbivorous animals like sheep, cattle, and camels, as well as humans. Echinococci primarily harm their hosts in the form of larvae, causing severe echinococcosis. As the parasites grow, they can reach up to 3040 centimeters in size. Echinococci can survive in humans for over 40 years. Dogs, wolves, and other canids become infected by consuming echinococci or animal carcasses containing them. Echinococcosis is more prevalent in areas with developed animal husbandry, where the primary source of infection in animals and humans is wild dogs and shepherd dogs. Shepherd dogs can become infected by consuming the internal organs of sheep containing echinococci, leading to the spread of the tapeworm between sheep and dogs.

(6) Mesocestoides

This tapeworm is 75100 centimeters long, with a scolex having four welldeveloped suckers and no rostellum. The eggs are elongated, measuring about 4060 micrometers by 3543 micrometers, containing six oncospheres within two membranes. The adult tapeworm resides in the small intestines of dogs and cats, with the first intermediate host being the soil mite, where it develops into a cysticercoidlike form. The second intermediate host includes various rodents, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, which develop into tetrapores after consuming the mites containing cysticercoidlike forms. When the intermediate hosts or tetrapores are consumed by the definitive hosts, they develop into adults in the small intestines.

(7) Taenia Manni

This tapeworm primarily resides in the small intestines of cats and dogs. The worm is about 100 centimeters long, with a scolex shaped like a finger, having a longitudinal groove on both the dorsal and ventral surfaces. The neck is slender, and the segments are generally wider than long. The eggs are nearly oval, slightly pointed at both ends, and have a light graybrown color. One end has an operculum, a thin eggshell, and contains numerous yolk cells and one germ cell, measuring about 5268 micrometers by 3243 micrometers.

The life cycle of Taenia Manni requires two intermediate hosts. The first intermediate host is the copepod, where it develops into a protoscolex. The second intermediate host includes frogs, snakes, birds, fish (even humans can act as a transport host), where it develops into a sparganum. Cats, dogs, and other carnivorous animals like tigers and leopards are the definitive hosts, with the sparganum developing into adults in the small intestines. Generally, eggs can be detected in feces three weeks after infection, and the adult tapeworm can live in cats for about three and a half years.

(8) Dipylidium Caninum

This tapeworm has a life cycle similar to Taenia Manni, also requiring two intermediate hosts. The first intermediate host is the copepod, and the second intermediate host is fish. Humans, as well as carnivorous animals like dogs and cats, are the definitive hosts. The definitive hosts become infected by consuming fish containing sparganum, and the infection develops into adults after 56 weeks. The adult tapeworm can live in humans for 513 years. The contamination of water sources by human and canine feces is an important cause of copepod infection. Additionally, various wild animals can become infected, serving as natural foci for the disease.

Symptoms

When a large number of worms are present, they can cause damage to the intestinal mesentery with their small hooks and suckers, often leading to inflammation. The worms absorb nutrients, hindering the host's growth and development; the toxins they secrete can cause poisoning; and when they clump together, they can block the small intestine, causing abdominal pain, intestinal torsion, and even intestinal rupture. When other mammals and humans act as intermediate hosts, they often reside in internal organs, causing severe diseases.

In mild infections, dogs may not show symptoms. In severe infections, symptoms may include vomiting, chronic enteritis, loss of appetite, pica, progressive weight loss, malnutrition, and lack of energy. Some dogs may exhibit intense excitement (similar to rabies), attack humans, or experience seizures or paralysis. Canine tapeworm disease often progresses chronically.

Differential Diagnosis

(1) Canine Tapeworm Disease vs. Canine Hookworm Disease

Both diseases present with symptoms such as rough and dull fur, decreased appetite, progressive weight loss, anemia, pica, vomiting, and diarrhea. The difference lies in the causative agents: canine hookworm disease is caused by the canine hookworm. Affected dogs may have mucous or bloody stools, or black, tarlike stools with an unpleasant odor. The paws may become red and itchy, with swelling and ulcers on the paw pads, or mouth sores. Fecal examination can reveal colorless, ovalshaped eggs.

(2) Canine Tapeworm Disease vs. Canine Whipworm Disease

Both diseases present with symptoms such as diarrhea and weight loss. The difference lies in the causative agent: canine whipworm disease is caused by the canine whipworm. Affected dogs may have bright red or brown blood in their stools, with an unpleasant odor. Fecal examination can reveal yellowbrown, thickshelled, smooth eggs.

(3) Canine Tapeworm Disease vs. Canine Roundworm Disease

Both diseases present with symptoms such as decreased appetite, pica, vomiting, diarrhea, and sometimes excitement, seizures, or epilepsy. The difference lies in the causative agent: canine roundworm disease is caused by the canine ascarid. Affected dogs may regurgitate or excrete the worms, and fecal examination can reveal yellowbrown, round eggs with concave surfaces resembling a beehive pattern.

Reminders

Diagnosis should be based on clinical symptoms and the results of fecal examinations. If the gravid proglottids are found stuck to a dog's anus, or if short tapeworm segments are found in the feces, it can help confirm the diagnosis.

Preventive Measures

(1) Prevention

① Regularly deworm dogs and cats to ensure their health.

② Do not feed dogs and cats with meat waste, especially unprocessed or abnormal meat and offal.

③ Do not feed dogs and cats raw fish or shrimp caught in areas where sparganosis is prevalent.

④ Regularly kill fleas and lice on pets and in their living environments.

(2) Treatment

① Hydrobromic槟榔碱，dogs at a dose of 12 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken orally once.

② Thiabendazole，dogs and cats at a dose of 200 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken orally once, effective for sparganosis.

③ Dithiazanine hydrochloride，dogs and cats at a dose of 2550 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken orally once. For the removal of Echinococcus granulosus, the dose is 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken orally once, followed by another dose 48 hours later.

④ Praziquantel，dogs at a dose of 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, and cats at a dose of 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken orally once.

⑤ Albendazole，dogs at a dose of 1020 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken orally once daily for 34 days.