Taenia crassiceps

Taenia crassiceps
Taenia crassiceps larvae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Platyhelminthes
Class:	Cestoda
Order:	Cyclophyllidea
Family:	Taeniidae
Genus:	Taenia
Species:	T. crassiceps
Binomial name
Taenia crassiceps (Zeder, 1800)

Taenia crassiceps is a parasitic organism, and is a member of the Taenia genus. It is a tapeworm. It is related to Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm, and to Taenia saginata, the beef tapeworm. It is commonly found throughout Canada and the northern US.

The parasites begin its life in an intestine of a wild canine, like a coyote. Inside the coyote, the tapeworm reproduces. Its eggs are passed in the coyote feces, and is eaten by a rat. When the rat is being eaten by another coyote, the parasites life cycle repeats. Taenia crassiceps are extremely rare to cause infection in humans. However if they do infect humans they feast on the vitreous and retina of the eye and can cause blindness. An adult human's immune system typically removes the parasite before permanent damage is done. However juveniles are typically less defended.

Human Pathologies

Taenia crassiceps is described as an opportunistic infection in severe immunodeficiency, as in AIDS.^[1]

Cranial MRI of the German woman as described. A- Transverse view, T1-weighted MR image. The 30 × 30 mm parasitic lesion with perifocal edema is located in the right hemisphere of the cerebellum and caused ataxia, headache, and nausea. The fourth ventricle is compressed. B- Coronal view, T2-weighted MR image. The cyst-like appearance of the parasitic tissue is clearly visible. This lesion can be misinterpreted as cerebral echinococcosis, racemose cysticercosis caused by a Taenia solium tapeworm, or coenurosis. C- Sagittal view, MR image with contrast enhancing agent. D- Transverse view, computed tomographic image after surgery.

A case of intracranial T. crassiceps tapeworm cysticercosis with severe involvement of the cerebellum is described. A 51-year-old German woman was hospitalized because of progressive headache, nausea, and vomiting. The signs and symptoms had started 2 weeks before, and intensity had been increasing ever since. At the time of admission, the patient showed cerebellar ataxia but no further neurologic deficits. She did not have fever or other symptoms. She had no known chronic preconditions or recent hospital stays and had never taken immunosuppressant drugs. She had no family history of neurologic symptoms or malignant diseases. Combined surgical removal of the larvae and treatment with albendazole and praziquantel led to a complete cure in this nonimmunocompromised patient. The organism was unequivocally identified by molecular methods, thus avoiding a misdiagnosis of Taenia solium tapeworm cysticercosis. ^[2]

References

Includes public domain text from the CDC as cited