Tapeworm: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Tapeworm intestinal infection is common among people who eat undercooked beef or pork. According to information published by the World Health Organization (WHO) , the tapeworm ( medical name of this parasitic disease) is associated with digestive problems and neurological complications level in more severe cases.
How infection occurs? What are the types of tapeworms that infect humans? These and other questions may arise when talking about this parasite. Next, we detail the most relevant aspects.
Meeting the parasite
Taenia is a genus of parasitic flatworms of the class of cestodes. They are extracellular endoparasites, since they live inside their host, but they do not work at the cellular level, as is the case with viruses.
They have a complex life cycle and, depending on the stage causing the pathology, two diseases can occur in the affected individual.
- Adult tapeworms produce taeniasis when they lodge in the intestine of the definitive host.
- The larval and juvenile forms produce cysticercosis, an even more serious pathology that occurs when these are located in various organs and tissues of the affected person.
In their adult form, tapeworms are shaped like clearly segmented and flattened worms. On their head or scolex they have a series of hooks, which allow them to adhere the oral apparatus to the walls of the intestine of the patient and feed on the food that passes through it.
A complex cycle
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , human tapeworm is caused by three species:
- Taenia saginata or bovine tapeworm.
- Taenia solium or bovine tapeworm.
- A species of Asian origin, Taenia asiatica.
It is important to emphasize that humans are the only definitive host for this parasite, unlike many other diseases transmitted from animals to people. To simplify your complex life cycle, we can summarize the steps in three different ones.
- An infected human expels eggs or segments of the adult tapeworm with its feces, releasing them into the ground, where they can remain for up to months.
- Pigs and cows can accidentally consume these eggs and, over time, the larval forms settle in the tissues of the animals, leading to cysticerscosis.
- Humans ingest these meats infected with the juvenile forms, and one of them develops as an adult in the intestinal tract, closing the cycle.
Human feces- meat from infected pigs or cows- intestine
Symptoms of a tapeworm infection
Most cases of tapeworm infection are asymptomatic. However, there are those who have gastrointestinal disturbances and other complications. The clinical manifestations of taeniasis include the following:
- Abdominal pain and loss of appetite
- Progressive weight loss with no apparent explanation.
- General upset stomach.
This symptomatology does not appear until the animal is large. Unless a stool culture is done (where the eggs of the adult tapeworm can be seen), an infected patient may have a years old without realizing it.
Very different is the case of cysticercosis, a pathology produced only by Taenia solium . In this case, the human being is not infected by eating meat with the larvae, but by ingesting the eggs directly.
Thus, the parasite mistakes the human being for the intermediate host (pig or cow) and produces cysticercosis, or invasion of larvae into the tissues, in the human body. It should be noted that this is not the natural cycle of tapeworms.
The clinical picture differs greatly, depending on the tissues affected. But when the larvae settle in the brain, neurological symptoms are decisive in detecting the disease. These include the following:
- Constant and strong headaches.
- Epileptic attacks.
- Disorientation.
- Memory loss.
Prevention and treatment
Both cysticercosis and taeniasis can be treated with antiparasitic medications. Especially in the first pathology, the prognosis is very positive. Cysticercosis sometimes requires surgery and, if not treated, can cause death in a short time.
The best prevention is, as in almost all cases, good hygiene and food control. This is why these intestinal parasites are so rare in high-income countries; the food follows rigorous checks and the sale of meat with cysticercosis is avoided.
