Sparganosis (Figure) refers to tissue infection with the pleurocercoid larvae of the genera Diphyllobothrium (from the Greek di [“two”] + phyllon [“leaf”] + bothrion [“pit”]) or Spirometra (from the Greek speira [“coil”] + metra [“uterus”]). Sparganum (from the Greek sparganon [“swaddling clothes”]) 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.