Dr. Peter W. Pappas <pappas.3 at osu.edu> wrote in article
>> There's no answer to this question since "tapeworms" are not a reportable
> disease (i.e., no one keeps track of the infections). Moreover, there
are a
> number of epidemiological factors that determine who is even at risk, and
> many (perhaps most) infections go unnoticed (and, thus, undiagnosed)
since
> they are usually asymptomatic. I would guess that, on the average,
tapeworm
> infections in the US are uncommon.
Kappus et al (1994, Am Jour Trop Med Hyg 50:705-713) estimated that
Hymenolepis nana had a prevalence of 0.4% based on data complied by state
public health laboratories. I agree that the asymptomatic/undiagnosed
aspect of these infections is certainly a factor in this low prevalence
figure.
--
Charles T. Faulkner, Ph.D.
<ctfaulkner at utk.edu>
Clinical Parasitology, Rm A-233
Univ TN Veterinary Teaching Hospital
2407 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4500
423-974-5645 (voice)
423-974-5640 (fax)
>> Now, if you read the materials distributed by those who sell "colon
> cleanses" and other herbal tinctures (aka "snake oil"), they will try to
> convince you that almost everyone in the United States has tapeworms and
any
> number of other parasitic diseases, but this just isn't so.
>> Why do you want to know?
>>>>
