What is a tapeworm infection and who is at risk?
According to a recent report, hundreds of tapeworms were found in a
man's brain and chest, after doctors looked into the matter when he
complained of headaches and seizures. The tapeworms reportedly
originated from the eggs of a piece of underc-ooked pork that the man
ate.
A 43-year-old Chinese man ate pork that he said, “he was unsure about”. The under-cooked meat was contaminated with a parasitic tapeworm, Taenia Solium. However, he obviously did not expect to be infected by such an infection. What is a tapeworm infection, and who could be at a higher risk of contracting the infection? Here is what you need to know.
Tapeworm infection is caused by ingesting food or water that is contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae, as it happened when the 43-year-old man consumed under-cooked meat that apparently carried the parasite tapeworm eggs. When you ingest the eggs, they can move outside your intestines and form cysts in almost any place in your body. However, if you ingest the larvae, they develop into adult tapeworms inside your intestines itself and do not move to other organs in the body.
This categorises the tapeworm infection into two types – intestinal tapeworm and invasive infection.
The causes of tapeworm infection include ingestion of eggs or ingestion of larvae cysts in meat. However, some people may be at a greater risk of contracting the infection than others. Here are some risk factors, that can elevate the risk of a tapeworm infection.
A 43-year-old Chinese man ate pork that he said, “he was unsure about”. The under-cooked meat was contaminated with a parasitic tapeworm, Taenia Solium. However, he obviously did not expect to be infected by such an infection. What is a tapeworm infection, and who could be at a higher risk of contracting the infection? Here is what you need to know.
Tapeworm infection is caused by ingesting food or water that is contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae, as it happened when the 43-year-old man consumed under-cooked meat that apparently carried the parasite tapeworm eggs. When you ingest the eggs, they can move outside your intestines and form cysts in almost any place in your body. However, if you ingest the larvae, they develop into adult tapeworms inside your intestines itself and do not move to other organs in the body.
This categorises the tapeworm infection into two types – intestinal tapeworm and invasive infection.
The causes of tapeworm infection include ingestion of eggs or ingestion of larvae cysts in meat. However, some people may be at a greater risk of contracting the infection than others. Here are some risk factors, that can elevate the risk of a tapeworm infection.