• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.219-223
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• 2007

A case of Diphyllobothrium latum infection in a 49-year old man is described, and diphyllobothriasis latum in the Republic of Korea is briefly reviewed. An incomplete strobila of a tapeworm, 95 cm in length, without scolex and neck, was spontaneously discharged in the feces of a patient. On the basis of morphologic characteristics of the worm and eggs, the worm was identified as D. latum. The patient was successfully treated with a single dose (15 mg/kg) of praziquantel. The most probable source of infection was salmon flesh according to the past history of the patient. The first case of D. latum infection was documented in 1971, and this is the 43rd recorded case in the Republic of Korea. The 43 cases were briefly reviewed. The patients' main complaints were gastrointestinal troubles, such as mild abdominal pain, indigestion, and diarrhea, and discharge of tapeworm segments in the feces. The suspected infection sources included raw or improperly cooked flesh of fresh or brackish water fish, including the perch, mullet, salmon, and trout.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.129-133
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• 2001

We experienced one rare case of Diphyllobothrium latum infection in childhood. It was proved by collection of worm after praziquantel treatment. Human diphyllobothriasis is chiefly caused through eating raw or unproperly cooked fish such as trout or salmon. This case was a 5-year old girl residing in Seoul, from whom a kind of pseudophyllidean tapeworm was detected in the feces. She would often eat sushi(raw fish) and had abdominal pain, but not revealed any sign of anemia. Obtained chain of worm segments that sized $0.25{\times}1.25cm$ was compatible with D. latum. Including the present 31 cases, total number of human D. latum infections proven by worms in Korea becomes 32 cases, and total number of child D. latum infections proven by worms in Korea becomes 4 cases.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.379-390
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• 2007

We sequenced and characterized the complete mitochondrial genome of the Japanese fish tapeworm D. nihonkaiense. The genome is a circular-DNA molecule of 13607 bp (one nucleotide shorter than that of D. latum mtDNA) containing 12 protein-coding genes (lacking atp8), 22 tRNA genes and two rRNA genes. Gene order and genome content are identical to those of the other cestodes reported thus far, including its congener D. latum. The only exception is Hymenolepis diminuta in which the positions of trnS2 and trnL1 are switched. We tested a PCR-based molecular assay designed to rapidly and accurately differentiate between D. nihonkaiense and D. latum using species-specific primers based on a comparison of their mtDNA sequences. We found the PCR-based system to be very reliable and specific, and suggest that PCR-based identification methods using mtDNA sequences could contribute to the study of the epidemiology and larval ecology of Diphyllobothrium species.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제52권6호
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• pp.673-676
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• 2014

Until 2012, a total of 48 cases of diphyllobothriasis had been reported in Korea, all of which were morphologically identified as Diphyllobothrium latum. However, some of these specimens were analyzed by nucleotide sequencing of the mitochondrial cox1 gene, which showed that all were D. nihonkaiense, not D. latum. After that, 3 further cases of diphyllobothriasis were confirmed as D. nihonkaiense. In the present study, 3 new cases of D. nihonkaiense were detected from 2011 through 2013. The hosts were infected through consumption of salmonid fishes, such as the trout or salmon, and 2 of them experienced severe diarrhea prior to proglottid passage. All of the tapeworms were confirmed to be D. nihonkaiense by genetic identification. This proved again that most diphyllobothriasis in Korea have been caused by D. nihonkaiense.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제55권4호
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• pp.425-428
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• 2017

Human diphyllobothriasis is a parasitic disease caused by ingestion of larvae (plerocercoids) in raw or undercooked fish and commonly found in temperate areas. Rare cases were reported in tropical or subtropical areas especially in children. The first documented case of pediatric diphyllobothriasis in Taiwan had been reported 11 years ago. Here, we report another 8-year-old girl case who presented with a live noodle-like worm hanging down from her anus, with no other detectable symptoms. We pulled the worm out and found the strobila being 260 cm in length. Examination of gravid proglottids showed that they were wider than their lengths, containing an ovoid cirrus sac in the anterior side and the rosette-shaped uterus. Eggs extracted from the uterus were ovoid and operculated. Diphyllobothrium latum was confirmed by molecular analysis of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene. The girl was treated with a single oral dose of praziquantel, and no eggs or proglottids were observed from her stool in the subsequent 3 months. The reemergence of human diphyllobothriasis in non-endemic countries is probably due to prevalent habit of eating imported raw fish from endemic areas. This pediatric case raised our concern that human diphyllobothriasis is likely underestimated because of unremarkable symptoms.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제52권2호
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• pp.197-199
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• 2014

Diphyllobothrium latum and Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense are the 2 reported main causes of human diphyllobothriasis in the Republic of Korea. However, the differentiation of these 2 species based on morphologic features alone is difficult. The authors used nucleotide sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene to diagnose Diphyllobothrium spp. Two patients visited the emergency room at Kyungpook National University Hospital on 3 April and 12 April 2013, respectively, with fragments of parasites found while defecating. The parasites were identified as Diphyllobothrium spp. based on morphologic characteristics, and subsequent cox1 gene sequencing showed 99.9% similarity (1,478/1,480 bp) with D. nihonkaiense. Our findings support the hypothesis that D. nihonkaiense is a dominant species in Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.117-120
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• 1994

Two rare cases of human infection with parvum (dwarf) type of Diphyllobothnum Iatum [syn. D. panpum (Stephens, 1908)], were discovered in Korea. The first case was a 46-year old housewife, from whom a kind of pseudophyllidean tapeworm eggs was detected in the feces. She was treated with praziquantel and purged, and a complete strobila with scolex, 120 cm in total length, was recovered. She recalled that she had eaten raw trouts at a raw-fish restaurant near the Chungju Lake. Another patient was a 22-year old medical student (male), who used to eat raw sea-foods. He discovered a chain of tapeworm proglottids, 15 cm in length, discharged spontaneously in his stool and brought it for identification. The worms from the two cases were compatible with D. pan)urn (Stephens, 1908) of which the taxonomic significance has long been questioned. After a detailed morphological study and review of literature, we designated the worms as D. datum prom type. This is the first report on the occurrence of this rare type of D. lotunl infection in Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제53권6호
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• pp.683-688
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• 2015

Human diphyllobothriasis is a widespread fish-borne zoonosis caused by the infection with broad tapeworms belonging to the genus Diphyllobothrium. In mainland China, so far 20 human cases of Diphyllobothrium infections have been reported, and the etiologic species were identified as D. latum and D. nihonkaiense based on morphological characteristics or molecular analysis. In the present study, proglottids of diphyllobothriid tapeworms from 3 human cases that occurred in Heilongjiang Province, China were identified as D. nihonkaiense by sequencing mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nad5) genes. Two different cox1 gene sequences were obtained. One sequence showed 100% homology with those from humans in Japan. The remaining cox1 gene sequence and 2 different nad5 gene sequences obtained were not described previously, and might reflect endemic genetic characterizations. D. nihonkaiense might also be a major causative species of human diphyllobothriasis in China. Meanwhile, the finding of the first pediatric case of D. nihonkaiense infection in China suggests that infants infected with D. nihonkaiense should not be ignored.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제35권4호
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• pp.283-290
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• 1997

A total of 32 human diphyllobothriasis cases have been reported so far in Korea, exclud- ing 21 egg-positive cases from stool examinations. Authors experienced five more human cases of DiphHllobothrium latum infection, especially infected due to eating raw flesh of redlip mullet, Lizc hoematocheiln. Five cases were neighbors residing in the Puchon area, Kyonggi-do, who ate raw mullets (L. hQematocheila) in a party in February 1996. The mul- lets were purchased at the Noryangjin fisheries market in Seoul. All of cases (2 males and 3 females) were 35 to 43 years old and healthy with the body weight range of 56-62 kg. They complained about gastrointestinal trouble and abdominal discomfort, but were in normal ranges of their hematology and urinalysis data. None revealed any sign of anemia The patients experienced natural discharge of a chain of segments before, and showed diphyllobothriid eggs in their stool specimens when they visited our laboratory. They were administered with praziquantel (15 mg/kg of body weight) and 30 g of magnesium sulfate as a purgative. Two whole worms with the scolices (310-340 cm in length; 8-13 mm in width) were expelled each from two out of five cases after anthelmintic treatment, and the others expelled the parts of strobilae without scolex. The worms were identified as D. Ictum, based on the following biological characters. external morphologies, coiling of uterus, the number of uterine loops, position of genital opening, morphologies of cirrus, cirrus sac and seminal vesicle on the histological sections, position of vagina and uterine pore , and microscopical and SEM morphologies of the eggs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.213-216
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• 1989

Seven cases of Diphyllcbothrium latum infection were proved by collection of worms after prasiquantel treatment between October, 1986 and July, 1987. The patients were all males aged 20~44 years residing in Seoul or Ulungdo, Kyungpook Province. All of them had the history of eating several kinds of raw marine fishes, and they had never been to abroad. One of them exporienced abdominal pain and 6 experienced natural discharge of a chain of worm segments, but none revealed any sign of anemia, Total 12 worms (1~3/patient) were collected after praiiquantel treatment. The worms were 85~423 cm in length, and revealed the characteristic rosette-shape uterus in their gravid proglottides. The average egg size varied $61.0~65.3{\times}41.7~46.1{\;}{\mu\textrm{m}}$. The eggs were yellowish. brown, and ovoid to elliptical. Including the present 7 cases, the total number of human D. latum infections proven by worms in Korea becomes 28 cases.