Spirometra

Spirometra is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs that pass with the animal's feces. When the eggs reach water, the eggs hatch into coracidia which are eaten by copepods. The copepods are eaten by a second intermediate host to continue the life cycle. Humans can become infected if they accidentally eat frog legs or fish with the plerocercoid stage encysted in the muscle. In humans, an infection of Spirometra is termed sparganosis.

== History == Spirometra infections were first described by Patrick Manson from China in 1882, and the first human case was reported by Charles Wardell Stiles from Florida in 1908. Among this family of flatworms, there are a few species that show up most prominently in infections. One of these species is Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, which is the main cause of infections in Europe and Asia, and rarely but sometimes in North and South America. The species that is the leading cause of infections in the Americas is Spirometra mansonoides. Some other species of Spirometra that have been diagnosed as causing infections are Spirometra felis, Spirometra decipiens, and Spirometra urichi. The species Spirometra felis was found in domestic cats, as well as Spirometra decipiens. This same species, (Spirometra decipiens) was also discovered when scientists fed dogs larvae from frogs. Spirometra decipiens  has been identified in cats, dogs, and leopards. Finally, Spirometra urichi was identified through an infection of an ocelot in Trinidad.