Definition for pork tapeworm infection (taenia solium)

Taenia solium, also called the pork tapeworm, is a cyclophyllid cestode in the family Taeniidae. It infects pigs and humans in Asia, Africa, the Philippines, South America, parts of Southern Europe, and pockets of North America.In Muslim countries, it is found only very rarely, due to religious dietary restrictions. more

Taenia solium, also called the pork tapeworm, is a cyclophyllid cestode in the family Taeniidae. It infects pigs and humans in Asia, Africa, the Philippines, South America, parts of Southern Europe, and pockets of North America.In Muslim countries, it is found only very rarely, due to religious dietary restrictions. Like all cyclophyllid cestodes, T. solium has four suckers on its scolex ("head"). T. solium also has two rows of hooks. T. solium has a very similar life cycle to Taenia saginata,. Though humans usually serve as a definitive host, eating infected meat, fostering adult tapeworms in the intestine, and passing eggs through feces, sometimes a cysticercus (a larva sometimes called a "bladder worm") develops in the human and the human acts like an intermediate host. This happens if eggs get to the stomach, usually as a result of contaminated hands, but also of vomiting. Cysticerci often occur in the central nervous system, which can cause major neurological problems like epilepsy and even death. The condition of having cycsticerci in one's body is called Cysticercosis, and is discussed in its own article. less