Sorry, I mis-sent this first time....

>Some info from http://martin.parasitology.mcgill.ca/jimpage/biol/d_latum.htm
>on tapeworms from eating raw fish.I'm unhappy to find that there is no good
>treatment other than surgery, which ain't so hot,since I last studied this
>organism.

>Diphyllobothrium latum

>This pseudophillidean tapeworm in the family Diphyllobothriidae is known as
>the broad fish tapeworm and is found mainly infecting fish of Northern Europe,
 a closely related species D. ursi is found in the North Eastern U.S. There are
> many different host species,mainly those carnivores
>which eat fish, and this includes man.

>These worms can reach to a length of 10 meters and can shed in the region of
>one million eggs per day. They are anapolytic which means they shed their spent
> proglottids. The scolex is finger-shaped with bothria on the dorsal and
>ventral surfaces. The proglottids are wider than they are long with
>numerous testis and vitellaria with a bilobed ovary. The gravid proglottids
>have a characteristic rosette shaped uterus.

>The eggs are ovoid with an operculum at one end and a knob at the other and
>measure 60 x 40 m. When they are released into the intestine they
> are only partially embryonated and require from 8
>days to several weeks for the infective coracidium to develop. This
>free-living stage emerges through the operculum and is ingested by a copepod,
> Diaptomus sp. It loses its cilia and penetrates through
>the gust wall into the coelum. Here it takes up nutrients from the host and
>develops into the procercoid stage with a cercomer. It measures about 0.5 mm
>and is largely undifferentiated. They remain in the copepod
>until they are eaten by the second intermediate host,
>usually a Pike or salmon where it penetrates the gut,
> loses the cercomer and makes its way to the muscles and becomes a
>plerocercoid. If the second intermediate host is small and is eaten by a
>larger predatory fish (Pike) then the plerocercoid migrates to the muscle
>of this fish also which is a paratenic host. The plerocercoid can be up to
>a few cm in length, and is usually coiled within in the muscle cell. It can
>easily be seen as a white mass in uncooked fish muscle.

>When the plerocercoid is eaten by the definitive host it passes through the
>stomach and the scolex becomes embedded in the mucosa of the small intestine
> and develops rapidly producing eggs within 10-14 days.

>People generally become infected when uncooked fish are eaten and it is
>particularly prevalent in those cultures which eat a lot of freshwater
> fish and prepare it by methods other than cooking. In
>regions with poor sanitation where untreated swage is released directly into
>rivers and lakes, infected fish with high prevalence and intensity rates are common,
>often reaching 100%.

>Pathology

>In many cases human infections go largely unnoticed, because of the
>nonspecific symptoms such as intestinal discomfort, nausea, and diarrhea.
> However, in some cases pernicious anaemia develops
>which is related to a vitamin B12 deficiency. Normally occurring pernicious
>anaemia is a result of malabsorption of B12 by the host. In patients with D. latum
>infections it has been demonstrated that the parasite cleaves and selectively
> takes up B12, competing with the host for the vitamin. Thus, in
>heavy infections the parasite may be sequestering almost all of the
>available dietary B12. It is also suggested that the worm may also interfere
> with the host's ability to take up the vitamin. It would
>appear that some people are more susceptible to this condition than others
>and can lead to a condition known as Megablastic anaemia the symptoms
>of which is pallor,glossitis, loss of tongue papillae. There are also neurological
>symptoms including numbness, loss of vibration sense,
>weakness and an unsteady gate.

>Treatment and Control

>There are a large number of possible drugs available to treat this disease,
>the two main ones used are Niclosamide and praziquantel, both of which are highly effective.

>Effective control measures include cooking fish properly or freezing the
>fish down below -12 C for a minimum of 24 hrs.

>In addition, properly treated and managed swage is also important.

>Sparganosis

>The disease known as sparganosis is due to the infection of abnormal hosts
>with the plerocercoid stage of a tapeworm. Human infections can occur by eating
> infected copepods but additionally by
>eating poorly cooked amphibians, reptiles, birds and even pork. These
>plerocercoids migrate through the tissue to host muscle and are frequently walled
>off by host reaction into nodules. They can be very dangerous, as some species
> can reach a length of 10 cm. They can survive for many
>years. In some cases they can proliferate thus resulting in large numbers in
>the host tissue. They are usually discovered when they are investigated
>through exploratory surgery as the site of possible
>cancerous growths. Treatment is generally through surgery, as drugs are
>rarely effective.

>Pat