Family TAENIIDAE Ludwig, 1886
Introduction
The family Taeniidae Ludwig, 1886 is a small but economically important family of cestodes, comprising two genera Echinococcus Rudolphi, 1809 and Taenia Linnaeus, 1758, each placed in its own subfamily. The adult cestodes of this genus are parasitic in the intestines of canids, felids and hominids and all Australian species are introduced. The life cycle involves a mammal as the intermediate host, and it is the larval or metacestode stages in the intermediate hosts that are pathogenic.
Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786) is the cause of hydatid disease in Australia. The adult cestode in the small intestine of the dog is unobtrusive and relatively harmless. However, in the intermediate hosts, which include ruminants, macropods and humans, the hydatid cyst can develop to a large size causing morbidity or mortality in the host (Kumaratilake & Thompson 1982).
Four species of Taenia are present in dogs in Australia, two of which utilise the rabbit and hare as intermediate hosts, and two of which use ruminants as their primary hosts. A single species in cats has rodents as intermediate hosts. Taenia ovis, the metacestode or cysticercus stage of which occurs in the musculature of sheep has been important economically in the past, since infected meat has been the subject of import restrictions. Taenia saginata occurs in humans in Australia but is not endemic. It represents a problem for sewage treatment systems in which effluent is sprayed onto pastures grazed by cattle, the intermediate hosts.
The taxonomic arrangement followed here is that of Rausch (1994).
General References
Kumaratilake, L. M. & Thompson, R.C.A. 1982. Hydatidosis/echinococcosis in Australia. Helminthological Abstracts, Series A 51: 233-252
Rausch, R.L. 1994. Family Taeniidae Ludwig, 1886. pp. 665-672 in Khalil, L.F., Jones, A. & Bray, R.A. (eds). Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates. Wallingford, UK : Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux International 751 pp.