Gr. di = two, phyllon = leaf, and bothrion = pit and speira = coil and me-tra = uterus. Sparganon= “swaddling clothes”.
Sparganosis refers to tissue infection with the pleuro-cercoid larvae of the genera Diphyllobothrium or Spirometra . Sparganum was originally described in 1854 by Diesing as a separate species but is now used generically to describe the larval stage of these cestodes.
The first human case was reported by Sir Patrick Manson in China in 1882, and 2 species (S. mansoni and S. mansonoides) are named for him. Sparganosis is most common in Asia where frogs or snakes are more commonly eaten or where traditional medicinal practices call for the use of raw frog or snake meat in poultices, although recent reports indicate it occurs in in some populations in Africa.