What is the relationship between dog/cat fleas, tapeworms and rice in the stool?
Can humans get infected with dog tapeworms?
Fleas play a necessary role in the life cycle and reproduction of a certain type of tapeworm called Dipylidium caninum.
Humans can also be infected with Dipylidium caninum, but cats and dogs are the primary hosts cause cats and dogs more often swallow a flea.
The adult form of the tapeworm Dipylidium caninum lives in the small intestines of dogs and cats. The worm is made up of multiple segments. One at a time, the segments, full of eggs, are passed in the feces. While warm, the segments are active, but as they dry, they break open and liberate the eggs inside. A flea larva ingests the eggs. The egg develops into an immature form in the flea. When a dog or cat eats the flea (usually while the animal is grooming), the immature form of the tapeworm is released from the flea. This immature tapeworm then develops into an adult in the dog's or cat's intestine and the life cycle is completed.
The tapeworm D. caninum can not be passed directly from cat to cat or dog to dog. It must live part of its life in the flea.
Pets may be infected with other types of tapeworms in which the larval form of the parasite can be found in rodents, pigs, or fish, instead of fleas.
Do parasites cause morbidity or deaths?
Estimates of global morbidity and mortality rates
due to major human helminth (worms) infections.
The format of this table was modified from that presented in the orignal publication. Note that these diseases cause relatively few deaths, but that each causes significant morbidity, and it is the chronic and disabling nature of these diseases that have such an impact on human populations, especially in developing countries.
Parasitic Disease
|
Number of Infections
(millions) |
Morbidity (%)
|
Mortality
(number) (%) |
Ascariasis |
1,472
|
23
|
60,000
0.004 |
Hookworm infections |
1,298
|
12
|
65,000
0.005 |
Lymphatic filariasis |
120
|
37
|
|
Onchocerciasis |
18
|
4.2
|
45,000
0.25 |
Schistosomiasis |
200
|
10
|
20,000
0.01 |
Trichuriasis |
1,049
|
21
|
10,000
0.001 |
Source: Journal of Parasitology 85:379-403 Dr. D.W.T. Crompton (Crompton, D.W.T. [1999] How much human helminthiasis is there in the world?)
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