Annoying vacation souvenir:: Fish tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium sp.) infestation in an Austrian fisherman

Diphyllobothriosis is infestation with the fish tapeworm. Although the worldwide incidence has decreased in recent decades, increased travel and the new popularity of dishes involving raw fish (e.g. sushi) may provide a higher risk of infestation in formerly low risk areas. We report an Austrian fisherman who passed a 75-cm tapeworm segment in his stool. Infestation presumably occurred 14 months earlier during a fishing tour in Alaska. At presentation the patient was asymptomatic, reported no weight loss and showed neither anaemia nor eosinophilia. He was cured with a single dose of 10 mg/kg body weight praziquantel.