The pork tapeworm (Taenia solium), also known simply as a tapeworm, is a species of parasitic worm that is classified within the Platyhelminthes
phylum.
This species infects pigs and humans in many areas of the world
including Africa, Southern Europe, Asia, South America, and some areas
of North America. This species can cause cysticercosis
in its larval stage, which is one of the major causes of seizures in
humans.
The pork tapeworm can reach an average body length between 2 to 3
meters, but individuals have reached over 50 meters long in some cases.
The life cycle of the pork tapeworm begins when a human or pig host
consumes feces that is infected with tapeworm eggs or pregnant segments.
The eggs hatch into oncospheres that will penetrate through the
intestinal wall and travel to many areas of the body including striated
muscles, the liver, the brain, or other internal tissues. Once the
larvae have stopped traveling, they will encyst in an area of the body.
If this area is the brain of a human, the resulting infection can cause
neurocysticercosis. The cysticerci form of this worm is when the worm is
able to fully mature and develop within the intestine of its host.
Adult tapeworms are hermaphroditic and can create up to one thousand
proglottids, or segments, within its lifetime.
These segments contain
male and female reproductive organs and can hold up to fifty thousand
eggs.
The most common disease caused by the pork tapeworm is known as
cysticercosis, a dangerous disease that affects humans in areas where
sanitation is poor.
This disease occurs when the segments or eggs within
the host’s intestine break, causing the larvae to be released.
The
larvae encyst in different tissues of the body, causing possible
symptoms like dizziness, headaches, and seizures.
The severity of each
case varies depending upon the level of infection and the location of
the encysted larvae, with severe cases causing hosts to experience
hypertension, dementia, brain system dysfunctions, sensory deficits,
involuntary movements, and neurocysticercosis, which can cause
blindness, tumor-like growths, and lesions on the brain.
Common methods of diagnosing a pork tapeworm infection include a
tissue biopsy and an examination of a feces sample. When using a fecal
sample to diagnose an infection, it is impossible to confirm
cysticercosis, which is typically done by looking for hooks on the
scolex of the worm.
Radiological tests such as an MRI, CT scan, and
X-rays can be used to diagnose cysticercosis in different areas of the
body. Although Praziquantel is the most commonly used drug to treat a pork tapeworm infection, some experts consider niclosamide to be the most efficient drug.
Combined treatments of steroids and albendazole
are often used to treat the inflammation caused by cysticercosis.
Surgical procedures can be used to treat lesions in the central nervous
system along with Albendazole to treat neurocysticercosis.
It is
important to practice good hygiene and properly dispose of human waste
near sources of pork products, but the best way to avoid a pork tapeworm
infection is to refrain from eating raw or under cooked pork.
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