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Taenia multiceps (coenurosis)

  • Parasite
  • For completeness

A dog tapeworm whose larva forms a cyst in sheep. If a person swallows its eggs, a cyst can grow in the brain, the eye or under the skin.

Updated

Also called: Multiceps multiceps, Coenurus cerebralis, Taenia serialis, coenurus

Quick facts

Type
Parasite · Cestodes (tapeworms)
Gram / shape
Fluid-filled cyst
Spread
Swallowing eggs passed in the faeces
Causes
Cerebral coenurosis · Ocular coenurosis
Treatment
Surgical removal of the cyst is the mainstay

At a glance

Shape
Fluid-filled cyst with many scolices on its inner wall (coenurus)
Family
Taeniidae
Type
Cestode; humans host only the larval stage (coenurus)
Size
Cysts from a few millimetres to several centimetres

Morphology

  • A coenurus has many protoscolices on its inner wall, unlike a cysticercus with only one.
  • It has no daughter cysts and no brood capsules, unlike a hydatid cyst.
  • The adult tapeworm lives only in canids.

Transmission

  • Swallowing eggs passed in the faeces of infected dogs or other canids.
  • Contaminated hands, food, water or soil, especially in sheep-farming areas.

Reservoir: Dogs, foxes and other canids (definitive hosts); Sheep and goats for T. multiceps; rabbits for T. serialis (intermediate hosts)

Isolation precautions

What the care team adds to standard precautions.

  • Standard

Life cycle

  1. The adult tapeworm lives in a dog's intestine and sheds eggs in its faeces.
  2. A sheep, goat or other herbivore swallows the eggs; the oncosphere enters the blood.
  3. In about three months a coenurus forms, classically in the sheep's brain (gid, or staggers).
  4. A dog becomes infected by eating the infected head or organs of the sheep.
  5. A person swallows eggs by accident; coenuri form in the brain, eye or subcutis and the cycle ends.

Virulence factors

  • The cyst grows slowly and acts as a space-occupying lesion.
  • In the brain it raises intracranial pressure or blocks the CSF flow (hydrocephalus).
  • In the eye it causes inflammation and loss of vision.

Diseases it causes

  • Cerebral coenurosis: headache, seizures, focal deficits or hydrocephalus, similar to neurocysticercosis
  • Ocular coenurosis: intraocular or orbital cyst with visual loss
  • Subcutaneous or muscular coenurosis: painless nodules on the trunk, neck or limbs

Clinical picture

  • Neurological signs depend on where the cyst sits; it may present years after infection.
  • Subcutaneous nodules are often taken for lipomas, ganglion cysts or congenital cysts.
  • T. multiceps favours the brain and eye; T. serialis favours the subcutis.

Diagnosis

  • CT or MRI shows a cystic lesion; it cannot be distinguished from a cysticercus on imaging alone.
  • Confirmation is histological: a cyst with multiple protoscolices.
  • Serology is experimental; PCR on tissue can identify the species.

Treatment

Surgical removal of the cyst is the mainstay; albendazole and sometimes praziquantel are used as adjuncts, with caution in eye lesions because dying parasites inflame the eye.

Drug class only; doses and regimens are set by the clinician from the current guideline.

In Pharmacology:

Prevention

  • Deworm dogs regularly in sheep-raising areas.
  • Do not feed dogs raw sheep heads or offal; dispose of carcasses safely.
  • Hand hygiene after handling dogs; wash vegetables.

Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

What distinguishes a coenurus from a cysticercus?

A coenurus has many protoscolices on its inner wall; a cysticercus has only one.

What are the definitive and intermediate hosts of Taenia multiceps?

Dogs and other canids are definitive hosts; sheep and goats are the usual intermediate hosts.

Where does Taenia multiceps usually form cysts in humans?

In the brain and the eye; subcutaneous cysts are more typical of Taenia serialis.

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Connections

← Back to the group: Cestodes (tapeworms)

Educational content on microorganisms; not a treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.

Sources: CDC - DPDx - Coenurosis (CDC, 2019); Human Coenurosis Caused by Taenia multiceps Mimicking a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst in a Child: A Case Report (International Medical Case Reports Journal (Dove Medical Press), 2026).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.