Taenia taeniaeformis

Lifecycle

The eggs of the tapeworm are shed by the definitive host in the feces, and these are then consumed by rodents where they pass through several stages of development and cause various forms of damage, eventually coming to reside primarily in the liver and abdominal cavity where each scolex will create a fluid-filled cyst. Here the parasite will wait for up to two months for the rodent to be eaten by a suitable definitive host. The definitive host must ingest the strobilocercus stage of the tapeworm in order to acquire the parasite and complete the lifecycle. The strobilocercus is a larval stage that has a terminal bladder and a rather long segmented body that is in crowned with the scolex that looks very similar to that found on the adult form. Superinfection in cats is possible if they are fed young tapeworms in the presence of established mature ones.

Diagnosis

Infection in cats is diagnosed by finding the distinctive segments in the feces or by finding the eggs upon fecal flotation. The small segments, that have exited through the anus, lying around where the animal has been, can be seen. To identify a segment, it can be crushed on a glass slide and examined for eggs.

Treatment

Praziquantel (5 mg/kg body weight) and epsiprantel have both been shown to be efficacious in the treatment of Taenia taeniaeformis in cats. Similarly, febantel and fenbendazole are approved for the treatment of this parasite in most of the world. Mebendazole and nitroscanate are also products that have efficacy against taeniataeniaeformis in cats.

References

References

1. Little, S.. (2011). "The Cat: Clinical Medicine and Management". Elsevier Health Sciences.
2. "Taenia taeniaeformis".
3. (1 March 2016). "Hydatigera". Mendeley.
4. (2008). "Feline Clinical Parasitology". John Wiley & Sons.