Tapeworm Life Cycles
Tapeworms are parasites most commonly found in developing countries without adequate sewage and water treatment facilities or rigorous livestock management, although they also infect people in the U.S. Most tapeworms require two or three hosts to complete their life cycle, though the dwarf tapeworm can live out its entire life within one host.
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Types
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Most of the tapeworms that can infect humans are associated with our food supply---the beef, pork, fish and sheep tapeworm. These tapeworms result from eating raw or undercooked meats from these animals. The dog tapeworm can be passed from dog to human, while the most common human tapeworm, the dwarf tapeworm, is easily passed from human to human by poor hygiene or improper food preparation practices.
Life Cycle
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The adult tapeworm has both male and female parts and so can reproduce without a mate. The tapeworm starts out as an egg, which grows into a larva, then becomes an adult, hooking or suctioning its head into the walls of the host's intestines. From its neck it begins to grow more and more connected segments. Each segment has a digestive system of its own, taking in nutrients through its skin. The final segment is an egg sac that breaks off and is eliminated along with the host's feces and contaminates soil and water where food is grown, thus infecting whoever eats the unwashed food. In the case of dog tapeworm, the eggs drop with feces and are eaten by flea larvae, which in turn are ingested by dogs to restart the tapeworm's life cycle.
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Symptoms
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There are often no symptoms of tapeworm infection. However, if the tapeworm larvae migrate throughout the body and form cysts, you may experience nausea, weakness, loss of appetite and unexpected weight loss, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Severe cases may exhibit fever, tumors, or if the brain is involved, neurological symptoms.
Causes
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Poor hygiene is the most common cause of tapeworm infection. Food handlers who carry the tapeworm and do not wash their hands before preparing or serving your food can pass the tapeworm eggs on to you. Eating raw or undercooked beef, pork, fish or mutton is another way of becoming infected with tapeworm. Cook fish to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and beef, pork and mutton to 155 degrees Fahrenheit to insure that parasite eggs and larvae are destroyed. Other risk factors include working with livestock or other contaminated mammals, eating unwashed fruits and vegetables, and living in or frequently visiting areas where water and sewage are not treated properly.
Always wash your hands after using the restroom and before you eat or touch your mouth. Good hygiene and proper cooking procedures are the best ways to keep free from tapeworm.
Treatment
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For most tapeworm infections, a course of medications that kill the tapeworm is prescribed, often along with antibiotics to treat any secondary infections. In more severe cases, where cysts have formed, anti-inflammatory drugs may be included. Surgery may be needed to remove cysts that have invaded vital organs.
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