Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Blood Trematodes: Schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis (i.e., bilharzia or snail fever) is a parasitic infection caused by trematodes that reside in the circulatory system. More than 230 million people worldwide suffer from schistosomiasis, which causes a range of disease from overt clinical manifestations to subtle…

Intestinal Trematodes

More than 70 species of zoonotic, hermaphroditic intestinal flukes can parasitize the human intestine. Most human infections are asymptomatic, but heavy infections are more likely to result in clinical disease. Adult flukes are flat and leaf-shaped, ranging in length from…

Echinococcus Species: Agents of Echinococcosis

Echinococcus Granulosus Description of the Pathogen Echinococcus granulosus , which causes cystic echinococcosis, is a cestode whose life cycle involves dogs and other canids as definitive hosts for the intestinal tapeworm. Domestic and wild ungulates are intermediate hosts for the…

Diphyllobothriidae, Dipylidium and Hymenolepis Species

Diphyllobothriidae Description of the Pathogens Pseudophyllidean cestodes in the family Diphyllobothriidae can cause intestinal tapeworm infections in humans. Around 16 species have been reported to cause human infections, though only six species have been confirmed with modern molecular techniques. In…

Blood and Tissue Nematodes: Filarial Worms

Human filariasis encompasses parasitic infections caused by several species of tiny, thread-like nematode worms that affect the skin, lymphatic vessels, and connective and subcutaneous tissues. Although rarely a direct cause of death, some filarial worms, especially the three species causing…

Tissue Nematodes

Tissue nematodes are parasitic roundworms that invade human tissues. Many of these nematodes are present in outdoor environments and are transmitted to children through the ingestion of nonfood substances. Most of these tissue parasites are zoonoses, with the infectious stage…