![]() Tapeworm infection is maintained by poor food preparation practices, as well as the continuous infection of pigs and cattle by feeding on vegetation contaminated by tapeworm eggs. The larvae attach to the intestinal wall and develop into mature tapeworms, which then produce on average 50,000 eggs per day. Humans then become infected by eating raw or undercooked beef or pork containing these cysticerci. They develop into larvae called cysticerci. The tapeworm eggs hatch and migrate to the muscles of infected pigs or cattle. Cattle or pigs become infected with these eggs or proglottids when ingesting contaminated vegetation. Humans with taeniasis pass eggs or proglottids in the stool which can contaminate pastures. solium can mature to lengths of 2 to 7 metres. saginata tapeworm is usually less than 5 metres but can become 25 metres in length. This raw meat dish is prone to harbouring Taenia saginata, a beef tapeworm that doesn’t survive being cooked above 56 degrees Celsius for more than five minutes. Callas did suffer from a tapeworm infection, but this is more likely to have come from her love of steak tartare. Opera singer Maria Callas was followed by rumours that she used these ‘miracle’ diet pills. However, there is no evidence that these medications did contain the ingredients as described- or that they would cause significant weight loss. In the early twentieth century, diet pills were advertised to contain tapeworm eggs, with the claim that the parasite would consume all the excess calories to accelerate weight loss. Taenia solium infections are rare in the UK, but are prevalent in parts of the developing world where people live in close contact with pigs, or there is poor food hygiene. Praziquantel can treat a wider range of parasitic worms, and works by causing paralysis of the worm, resulting in it losing its grip on the gut wall, Both medications will result in the worms, or part of the worms, being passed out of the body faecally, and care needs to be taken with handwashing in the following weeks to make sure eggs aren’t passed back into the mouth to re-infect. Unfortunately, it has some unpleasant side effects, such as vomiting, constipation and itchiness. It works by inhibiting metabolic activities in the tapeworm by blocking sugar uptake. Niclosamide is specific to tapeworms, and so is ineffective against other parasitic worm infections such as pinworms or roundworms. Treatment is by a tablet containing an anti-tapeworm medication such as niclosamide or praziquantel. It can sometimes be seen as small, solid lumps under the skin, only a centimetre or two across, but may result in severe neurological symptoms including headaches, seizures, meningitis, blindness and even death. This can lead to a condition called cysticercosis, where the eggs hatch into larve and enter the bloodstream to invade host tissues such as the brain or liver. As the eggs can be passed in the faeces of a human host, it is also possible to be infected via food that has been prepared by someone who hasn’t washed their hands after going to the toilet. This can happen from drinking contaminated water or by eating raw fruit or vegetables washed in contaminated water. ![]() While eating undercooked pork may result in an infection from Taenia solium larvae, infection from ingesting the eggs can be far more serious. Taenia solium from Surgeons’ Hall Museum’s collections ![]() In extreme cases it may result in anaemia. Heavy infection can cause tummy pain along with sickness and diarrhoea. Infection via this route is called taeniasis, and often the only symptom is fragments of the tapeworm seen in faeces. This example is Taenia solium, which comes from eating inadequately cooked pork. There are six types of tapeworm that can infect people, and usually they are named for the animal from which the are acquired. Human infection most commonly occurs after eating undercooked meat from an infected animal. The larvae can migrate into the muscles of the animal host. Animals can be infected after drinking water contaminated by the eggs. Each of their body segments is hermaphrodite, with a complete set of male and female reproductive organs capable of self-fertilisation to produce more eggs. Their life cycle has three stages: the egg, the immature larva and then the adult worm. Tapeworms are a type of parasite with flat, segmented bodies. In this Pathology Spotlight our Human Remains Conservator, Cat Irving, tell us all about tapeworms- from how they contaminate humans to their use in ‘diet pills’ in the early twentieth century.
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