• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.75-77
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• 1973

A large plerocercoid was found from abdominal cavity of hen slaughtered in a slaughter-chicken house at Chyung Yang market in Seoul. The worm was identified as Diphyllobothrium mansoni of Genus Spirometra and the length of whole body was approximately 50 cm.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.57-59
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• 2010

A 59-year-old Korean man complained of a painless scrotal hard nodule and weak urine stream. The ultrasound scan revealed a 2.2-cm sized round heteroechogenic nodule located in the extratesticular area. Microscopic hematuria was detected in routine laboratory examinations. On scrotal exploration, multiple spargana were incidentally found in the mass and along the left spermatic cord. On cystoscopy, a 10-mm sized mucosal elevation was found in the right side of the bladder dome. After transurethral resection of the covered mucosa, larval tapeworms were removed from inside of the nodule by forceps. Plerocercoids of Spirometra erinacei was confirmed morphologically and also by PCR-sequencing analysis from the extracted tissue of the urinary bladder. So far as the literature is concerned, this is the first worm (PCR)-proven case of sparganosis in the urinary bladder.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.57-60
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• 2004

A highly specific antigenic protein of 31 kDa from plerocercoid of Spirometra mansoni (sparganum) was obtained by gelatin affinity and Mono Q anion-exchange column chromatography. The purified 31 kDa protein was subjected to N-glycan enzymatic digestion for structural analysis. The relative electrophoretic mobility was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, before and after digestion. On SDS-PAGE after enzymatic digestion, the 31 kDa protein showed a molecular shift of approximately 2 kDa, which indicated the possession of complex N-linked oligosaccharides (N-glycosidase F sensitive) but not of high-mannose oligosaccharides (endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H, non-sensitive). Chemically periodated 31 kDa protein showed statistically non-significant changes with human sparganosis sera by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Therefore, the dominant epitopes of the 31 kDa molecule in human sparganosis were found to be mainly polypeptide, while N-glycans of the antigenic molecule in sparganum was minimal in anti-carbohydrate antibody production.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.69-73
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• 2014

Sparganosis is a parasitic infection caused by the plerocercoid tapeworm larva of the genus Spirometra. Although the destination of the larva is often a tissue or muscle in the chest, abdominal wall, extremities, eyes, brain, urinary tract, spinal canal, and scrotum, intramuscular sparganosis is uncommon and therefore is difficult to distinguish from a soft tissue tumor. We report a case of intramuscular sparganosis involving the gastrocnemius muscle in an elderly patient who was diagnosed using ultrasonography and MRI and treated by surgical excision. At approximately 1 cm near the schwannoma at the right distal sciatic nerve, several spargana worms were detected and removed.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.413-418
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• 2003

This survey of endoparasite infections among stray cats in Korea has been carried out during November 1995 to October 1997. A total of 215 stray cats were collected from SeoulㆍGyeonggi (54), Gangwon (38), Chungchong (34), Jeonla (38), and Gyeoungsang (51) areas. The positive rate of endoparasites was 184 (85.6%) cats among 215. Of isolated parasites, nematodes were the most often detected parasites especially Toxocara cati (102 cats), Ancylostoma tubaeformae (9 cats). The next most often detected parasites were cestodes (60/215; 27.9%) sepecially Spirometra erinaecei (34 cats), Taenia taeniaformis (26 cats). Opisthorchis tenuicollis was found in bile duct (9 cats) and Isospora spp. were identified in 41 cats (19.1 %). In mixed parasite infection, the rate of infections of nematodes, trematodes and protozoas was 3.3%, nematodes and cestodes with 8.8%, nematodes and protozoa with 4.2%, cestodes and protozoa with 1.9%. In parasitic infection by a considering age category, age from 2 to 4 years had the highest infection (92.3%), 1-2 years were 87.6%, over 4 years was 80.0%. 79.6 percents of the stray cats in SeoulㆍKyounggi areas were ranked the 1st in parasite infection. The next was Kyoungsang 76.5%, Kangwon 65.8%, Cholla 63.2% and Chungchong 61.8% in order. Considering age categories from birth to greater than 4 years, parasite infections were most prevalent in cats 2 to 4 years old; other ages seemed to have no effect on prevalence of parasitism. Also sex seemed to have no effect on prevalence of parasitism. In endoparasite infection, nematode and cestode infections were most frequently found, trematode infections were low, coccidiosis was showed very often.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.145-150
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• 2000

Antigenic components in the crude extracts of Spirometra mansoni plerocercoid were analyzed in early experimental infections and in IgG subclass observed in clinical sparganosis. By IgG immunoblot, sera obtained serially from experimental mice, fed 5 spargana each, were reacted with the crude extracts. Protein bands at 36-26 kDa and 103 kDa showed positive reactions since two weeks after infection. In a differential immunoblot, in which a monospecific antibody against sparganum chymase at 36 kDa was pre-treated, the reactions at 36-26 kDa disappeared, indicating that the sparganum chymase and its degradation products invoked IgG antibody reactions. When 69 patients sera of human sparganosis were examined for their IgG subclass responses, IgG4 levels showed the highest reaction which was followed by IgG 1 The IgG4 antibody also reacted mainly with 36-31 kDa protease. These results indicate that 36 kDa chymase of 5. nansoni plerocercoid is the main antigenic component inducing Ige antibody response in early stage of experimental sparganosis and for specific IgG subclass reactions in human sparganosis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.309-312
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• 2019

Spargana were collected from human and frogs in Liaoning and Hubei Provinces, China. PCR amplification and direct sequencing of A cox1 fragment was PCR-amplified from genomic DNA extracted from 7 specimens (5 from humans and 2 from frogs). The cox1 fragment (390 bp) showed 97-100% similarity to the reference sequence of S. erinaceieuropaei and 88-89% to the reference sequence of S. decipiens. There were 1-12 bases different between these worms, but no obvious genetic variation (0-3.3%) to the references. There was little difference of cox1 gene between sparganum samples of humans and frogs (1-3%). This study is the first report on S. erinaceieuropaei spargana from humans in Liaoning and Hubei Provinces.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.179-184
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• 2019

Sparganosis is a parasitic infestation caused by sparganum, a plerocercoid tapeworm larva of the genus Spirometra. Since the first case of human sparganosis reported in 1908, sparganosis has been a global disease, and is common in China, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries. Consumption of raw snakes, frogs, fish, or drinking contaminated beverages are sources of human infections. Human sparganosis usually manifests in subcutaneous fat in areas such as the abdomen, genitourinary tract, and limbs. Breast sparganosis cases are rare, representing less than 2% of total cases of human infections. Complete surgical extraction of the sparganum is the treatment of choice. Because of the rarity of the disease, clinical suspicion is vital to reach the diagnosis of breast sparganosis. Here we report 2 rare cases of breast sparganosis presenting with a painless breast lump, both treated with surgical excision and sparganum extraction.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.419-421
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• 2022

To improve our understanding of the migration of sparganum in humans, we report a case of ocular sparganosis having the migratory episode from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva. A 34-year-old woman was admitted to the Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Hefei, China), in December 2019. She presented with conjunctival hemorrhage and recurrent pain in the left eye. A foreign body was found in the muscle cone of the eye. Two months later, a ribbon-like white material was found under the conjunctiva on slit-lamp examination. A long and slender, actively moving parasite was extracted by surgery. The extracted worm was approximately 8 cm long and 2 mm wide. The worm was whitish, wrinkled, ribbon shaped, and had a slightly enlarged scolex. The worm sample was morphologically identified as a plerocercoid larva (sparganum) of the Spirometra tapeworm. Her conjunctival blood suffusion and eye pain ceased within 1 week after operation. She has been in good health without any symptoms during the 2-year follow-up. A case of ocular sparganosis, in which larval worm migrated from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva is reported from China.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 1996

Antigenic components reacting with IgE and IgG antibodies were localized in muscular layer of adult and of larva, sparganum. But the antigenic components inducing IgG were localized at tegument and parenchyma in addition to muscular layer in adult and sparganum. Also in sparganum, the surface of calcareous corpuscles of parenchyma showed immunoreactivity to IgG antibody. However antigenic components inducing IgE antibody were not localized in tegument and parenchyma, but in adult worm, we observed the immunopositive reaction at the lining of vitelline follicles in mature proglottis and on surface of egg shell within uterus of graved proglottis. By the method of immunogold-labelling, we observed the location of antigenic particles in tegument of sparganum. The density of antigenic particles inducing IgG was higher than that of antigen particles inducing IgE in syncytial tegument, tegument cells. A total of 43 and 36 protein bands were resolved from crude extracts of adult and sparganum, respectively, by SDS-PAGE. 34 bands from crude extracts of adult and larva were migrated to same positions. By EITB, 21 bands of 44 bands in adult were recognized with IgG antibody, and also 21 bands of 36 bands in sparganum. 13 bands of them were common antigenic components both in the adult worm and sparganum. Because 19 bands of 44 bands in adult worm were reacted with IgE antibody, they were IgE antigenic component. In sparganum, 13 bands were IgE antigenic components. 9 bands of them were common antigenic component inducing IgE antibody in both a-dult and sparganum. 3 bands of antigenic component recognized by IgE and IgG antibody were nonspecific antigen in both adult and sparganum of Spirometra erinacei.