Species introCountry intro
Dog Tapeworm - Echinococcus granulosus
Slide shows an adult tapeworm. It's 4 mm long and has 4 proglottids (segments). A gravid tapeworm can contain 823 eggs.
Dogs are the definitive host. The tapeworms are ingested by dogs and travel to the intestines, where they become attached. It is fairly harmless to a dog, but it can become a serious problem if a human is infected...this can happen when humans have close contact with infected dogs. Human infection can lead to abnormal organ function, spontaneous fracture of bones, and neurological effects.
*Whole mount microscope slide
''Echinococcus granulosus,'' also called the hydatid worm, hyper tape-worm or dog tapeworm, is a cyclophyllid cestode that dwells in the small intestine of canids as an adult, but which has important intermediate hosts such as livestock and humans, where it causes cystic echinococcosis, also known as hydatid disease.
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