Diphylobothrium infection, causes diphyllobothriasis and is transferred from raw fish to humans, dogs and bears. Pike, salmon, trout and perch are the major source for humans, so be sure to examine your lox before you put it onto your bagel and you might want to ask what kind of fish are in your sushi! Actually, most any animal eating raw fish can also get this particular tapeworm.
Tapeworms are flat like a ribbon, and made up of segments called proglottids. The proglottids contain between 50 to 60,000 eggs. As the tapeworm grows, the proglottids eventually break off and exit via the anus. Tapeworms live in the small intestine and they anchor into the intestinal wall by means of a scolex.
Trichuris (Whipworm) is a roundworm present all over the world, but mostly it resides in tropical climates and in places with poor sanitation. We see it in the veterinary world in places that have lots of species of animals or lots of dogs where the owner’s do not pick up the poop ever.
This worm is common in cattle and other ruminants and can be passed through the fecal-oral route. Some people get infected because they use cattle dung as a heat source. Symptoms of Trichostongylus are not as obvious as with some of the other roundworm species and include diarrhea, abdominal pain, and lack of appetite or weight loss.
Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm, is from one to several meters in length and is able to produce two diseases in the human, the taeniosis and cysticercosis. The taeniosis (intestinal form) is an exclusive disease of humans, often asymptomatic, and can perhaps maintain the infection for years. The main clinical manifestation is the frequent spontaneous elimination of proglottids in the feces. Approximately 5% to 40% of people with taeniosis develop into cysticercosis, confirming the fecal-oral contamination and infections of people associated with them.
Trichinella larvae are passed to humans and other animals by eating meat that has been improperly cooked. The larvae penetrate the stomach and intestines and find a resting spot as they embed within the muscles. I had a couple cases of this in some forestry employees. Someone shot a cougar and made jerky out of it and shared it with their entire office. Five people came down with the disease. Very painful. It can also be passed by the meat of pork, bear, seals, rats, dog, cats and many other wild animals.