Tapeworm infection is caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae. If you ingest certain tapeworm eggs, they can migrate out of the intestines and form larval cysts in body tissues and organs (invasive infection). However, if you ingest tapeworm larvae, these develop into adult tapeworms in your intestines (intestinal infection).
An adult tapeworm consists of a head, neck, and a chain of segments called proglottids. When you have an intestinal tapeworm infection, the head of the tapeworm attaches to the intestinal wall and the proglottids grow and produce eggs. Adult tapeworms can live up to 30 years in a host.
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Intestinal tapeworm infections are usually mild, with only one or two adult tapeworms. But invasive larval infections can cause serious complications.
Symptoms
Many people with intestinal tapeworm infection have no symptoms. If you have problems due to infection, your symptoms will depend on the type of tapeworm you have and where it is located. Symptoms of invasive tapeworm infection vary depending on where the larvae have migrated to.
Intestinal infection
Signs and symptoms of an intestinal infection include:
- Nausea
- Weakness
- loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Salt cravings or dirt cravings
- Weight loss and inadequate absorption of nutrients from food.
- invasive infection
If tapeworm larvae have migrated out of your intestines and formed cysts in other tissues, they can eventually cause tissue and organ damage, resulting in:
- Headaches
- Cystic masses or lumps
- Allergic reactions to the larvae.
- Neurological signs and symptoms, including seizures
When to see a doctor
If you experience any of the signs or symptoms of a tapeworm infection, seek medical attention.
Causes of tapeworm infection
A tapeworm infection begins after ingestion of tapeworm eggs or larvae.
Egg ingestion. If you eat food or drink water contaminated with feces from a person or animal with tapeworms, you are ingesting microscopic tapeworm eggs. For example, a pig infected with tapeworms will pass tapeworm eggs in its feces, which enter the soil.
If this same soil comes into contact with a food or water source, It pollutes. Then you can get infected when eat or drink something from the contaminated source.
Once inside your intestines, the eggs hatch into larvae.. At this stage, the larvae become mobile. If they migrate outside the intestines, they form cysts in other tissues, such as the lungs, central nervous system, or liver.
Ingestion of larval cysts in meat or muscle tissue. When an animal has a tapeworm infection, it has tapeworm larvae in its muscle tissue. If you eat raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal, you ingest the larvae, which then develop into adult tapeworms in your intestines.
Adult tapeworms can be more than 25 meters (80 feet) long and can survive up to 30 years in a host. some tapeworms stick to the walls of the intestines, where they cause mild irritation or inflammationwhile others can be passed in the stool and out of the body.
Risk factor’s
Factors that can put you at higher risk for tapeworm infection include:
Poor hygiene. Infrequent washing and bathing increases the risk of accidental transfer of contaminated material to the mouth.
livestock exposure. This is especially problematic in areas where human and animal feces are not disposed of properly.
Travel to developing countries. Infection most often occurs in areas with poor sanitation practices.
Eat raw or undercooked meats. Improper cooking may not kill tapeworm eggs and larvae contained in contaminated pork or beef.
Living in endemic areas. In certain parts of the world, exposure to tapeworm eggs is more likely. For example, your risk of coming into contact with eggs of the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium) is higher in areas of Latin America, China, sub-Saharan Africa, or Southeast Asia, where free-range pigs may be more common.
complications
Intestinal tapeworm infections do not usually cause complications. If complications do occur, they may include:
digestive block. If tapeworms get big enough, they can block your appendix and cause an infection (appendicitis); the bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver and gallbladder to the intestine; or your pancreatic duct, which carries digestive fluids from the pancreas to the intestine.
Impairment of the brain and central nervous system. Called neurocysticercosis (noor-o-sis-tih-sur-KOE-sis), this particularly dangerous complication of invasive pork tapeworm infection can cause headaches and visual impairment, as well as seizures, meningitis, hydrocephalus, or dementia. Death can occur in severe cases of infection.
Disruption of organ function. When the larvae migrate to the liver, lungs, or other organs, they develop into cysts. Over time, these cysts grow larger, sometimes large enough to crowd the functional parts of the organ or reduce its blood supply. Tapeworm cysts sometimes rupture, releasing more larvae, which can move to other organs and form additional cysts.
A leaking or ruptured cyst can cause a allergy-like reaction, with itching, hives, swelling and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, surgery or an organ transplant may be necessary.
Prevention
To prevent tapeworm infection:
Wash your hands with soap and water before eating or handling food and after using the bathroom.
When traveling to areas where tapeworms are more common, wash and cook all fruits and vegetables with drinking water before eating.
If the water is not safe, make sure to boil it for at least one minute and then let it cool down before using it.
Eliminate livestock exposure to tapeworm eggs by properly disposing of animal and human feces.
Thoroughly cook meat to temperatures of at least 63°C to kill tapeworm eggs or larvae.
Freeze meat for seven to 10 days and fish for at least 24 hours in a freezer at a temperature of -35° C to kill tapeworm eggs and larvae.
Avoid eating raw or undercooked pork, beef, and fish.
Treat dogs infected with tapeworms immediately.