Diphyllobothrium

Diphyllobothrium latum and other members of the genus are broad fish tapeworms reported from humans. They are parasitic flatworms. Diphyllobothriasis is characterized by abdominal distention, flatulence, intermittent abdominal cramping, and diarrhea with onset about 10 days after consumption of raw or insufficiently cooked fish. The larva that infects people, a "plerocercoid," is frequently encountered in the viscera of freshwater and marine fishes. D. latum is sometimes encountered in the flesh of freshwater fish or fish that are anadromous (migrating from salt water to fresh water for breeding). Bears and humans are the final or definitive hosts for this parasite.

D. latum is a broad, long tapeworm, often growing to lengths between 1 and 2 meters (3-7 feet) and potentially capable of attaining 10 meters (32 feet); the closely related D. pacificum normally matures in seals or other marine mammals and reaches only about half the length of D. latum. Diphyllobothriasis is rare in the United States, although it was formerly common around the Great Lakes and known as "Jewish or Scandinavian housewife's disease" because the preparers of gefillte fish or fish balls tended to taste these dishes before they were fully cooked. In persons that are genetically susceptible, usually persons of Scandinavian heritage, a severe anemia may develop as the result of infection with broad fish tapeworms. The anemia results from the tapeworm's great requirement for and absorption of Vitamin B12.