Survey of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei in frogs in Taiwan and its experimental infection in cats

Eighteen of 56 (32.1%) wild Rana limnocharis from central and south Taiwan were found to contain plerocercoids of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei. This is the first report of S. erinaceieuropaei infections in frogs in Taiwan, with the plerocercoids being recovered from the thigh and back muscles or under the skin. Other species of frogs examined, including nine wild R. latouchii, one wild Buergeria robustus and 110 cultured R. rugulosa were free of infection. The plerocercoids were orally inoculated into four cats; three of which were each given a single plerocercoid and one a dose of three plerocercoids. Daily faecal examination showed that two cats started shedding eggs of S. erinaceieuropaei on day 8 postinfection (PI) and the other two on day 10 PI. The highest eggs per gram and eggs per day for a single worm was found to be 428,000 and 14,416,000 respectively. Only the cat inoculated with three plerocercoids shed proglottids in its faeces during the 2 month observation period.