Annoying vacation souvenir: Fish tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium sp.) infestation in an Austrian fisherman.
Diphyllobothriosis is infestation with the fish tapeworm. Although the worldwide incidence has decreased in recent decades, increased travel and the new popularity of dishes involving raw fish (e.g. sushi) may provide a higher risk of infestation in formerly low-risk areas. We report an Austrian fisherman who passed a 75 cm tapeworm segment in his stool. Infestation presumably occurred 14 months earlier during a fishing tour in Alaska. At presentation, the patient was asymptomatic, reported no weight loss and showed neither anaemia nor eosinophilia. He was cured with a single dose of 10 mg/kg body weight praziquantel.
Stadlbauer
Vanessa
V
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria. vanessa.stadlbauer@meduni-graz.at
Haberl
Renate
R
Langner
Cord
C
Krejs
Günter J
GJ
Eherer
Andreas
A
D000413:Alaska; D000818:Animals; D001317:Austria; D004169:Diphyllobothriasis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology*; D004170:Diphyllobothrium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014195:Travel