 |  | Rudolph's Pediatrics Section 17. Infectious Diseases > Part 9. Parasitic Infections–Trematodes > Chapter 339. HymenolepiasisHéctor H. García and Robert H. Gilman | |
Topics Discussed: dwarf tapeworm; hymenolepiasis; hymenolepiasis diminuta; hymenolepis nana infection; infectious diseases; praziquantel; rat tapeworm.
Sections: References.
Excerpt:"Infection with Hymenolepis
nana, the dwarf tapeworm, is the most common tapeworm infection
in the world. H nana is found in 0.4% of
fecal specimens submitted to state laboratories in the United States.
Infections occur most frequently in warm countries. It is especially
prevalent in the southern part of the former Soviet Union, the Mediterranean, the
Indian subcontinent, and South America. Children are more commonly
infected than adults, and high prevalence rates have been reported
in institutionalized children because of fecal-oral transmission.1Although well-controlled studies of clinical manifestations of H
nana infections are scarce, most H nana infections
are most probably asymptomatic or unnoticed.3 Symptoms
reported from several series of H nana infections
are anorexia or increased appetite, nausea, vomiting, pains in the
extremities, dizziness, and headache. Other reported symptoms are
abdominal pain, diarrhea, restlessness, restless sleep, irritability,
and nasal and anal pruritus. There are conflicting reports about
correlation between the numbers of parasites and the presence of
symptoms. Although a mild eosinophilia is a common finding in H
nana infections, it is often absent. Rarely, H
diminuta may be diagnosed, mostly in asymptomatic cases
in stool surveys.4 The few reported cases do not
allow examination of differences in clinical manifestations or response to
treatment between H nana and H..."
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