Do you know what a Broad Fish Tapeworm is? Well I started researching and I found out this a very interesting parasite. One way I found this parasite interesting was the Broad Fish tapeworm can grow up to 9 meters[ 30 feet ] long that would be like if I stood on one side of my street and my brother stood on the other side!another way it is interesting is the Broad Fish Tapeworm eats by absorption[ absorbing the nutrients they need ] The Broad Fish tapeworm has no gut. The food they eat is the nutrients from the thing it is living in. Animals the Broad Fish tapeworm can live in our dogs, cats, bears, seals and human beings. The tapeworm cycle is easy to understand.

 

The egg of the tapeworm hatches in water or a lake. It then swims around with hair like fibers called embryos. A crustacean such as a crab or lobster eats the tapeworm. The tapeworm then starts to take nutrients from the crustacean. The crustacean then gets very weak and tired. A fish then eats the crustacean. When the fish eats the crustacean the tapeworm then leaves the crustacean then goes into the fish's muscles. Now when an animal like a bear, seal, or a human being eats the fish they will get the tapeworm. The tapeworm then goes into the final stage and starts laying eggs. The tapeworm has both sets of sex organs. The host then passes the eggs into a stream or lake and the process starts all over again.

 

Broad Fish tapeworm can be found in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Russia, United States, Ireland, Japan, and around some large lakes and rivers. Also, the Broad Fish tapeworm is an endangered species.

 

Author: Allison W

Published: 02/2008

 

Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=mmed.section.4713 http://www.appliedozone.com/parasites.html