ABSTRACT
This chapter provides state-of-the-art overviews on foodborne diseases caused by Spirometra in relation to their etiology, biology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Tapeworms of the genus Spirometra are Diphyllobothriidean cestodes. Humans can be infected by procercoid or plerocercoid larvae of the genus Spirometra, which develop in copepods, and reptiles or amphibians, respectively. Yamaguti considered all species in the genus Spirometra as synonyms of S. erinaceieuropaei. Procercoid larvae penetrate the intestinal wall and migrate to subcutaneous tissue or muscle, where they develop into plerocercoid larvae when the first intermediate host is eaten by second intermediate hosts, such as amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Human infection most often occurs following the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat containing second intermediate or paratenic hosts, or by the placement of poultices of frog or snake on eyes, wounds, or other regions, or by ingesting water contaminated with procercoid-infected crustaceans.
