THE taeniasis is a disease caused by flatworms of the species Taenia solium and Taenia saginata.The disease is contracted by eating contaminated meat, from pigs or cattle, undercooked or raw. The cattle are the intermediate hosts of the T. saginate, while pigs are intermediate hosts of T. solium. Man is the definitive host of both species of tapeworms and is responsible for releasing the eggs of these animals into the environment through feces. It is these eggs that will contaminate the intermediate host.
Read too: Fish tapeworm (diphylobotriasis)
the tapeworms
THE Taenia solium and the Taenia Saginata are flatworms belonging to class Basket, order Cyclophyllidea, family Taeniidae and gender Taenia. These animals are the parasites that cause taeniasis and also the cysticercosis.
THE Taenia solium it reaches from three to five meters in length and has the pig as an intermediate host. This species has a head or scolex with suction cups and a face with hooks. After the scolex, the cervix or neck is located and, later, follows the body, which resembles a long ribbon divided into several units (proglottids).
Each proglottid has sexual organs capable of self-fertilization. The proglottids are divided into young, mature and pregnant, the latter being those with the animal's egg. THE Taenia Saginatahas the same bodily division as the T. solium, however, it differs by not having hooks on its rostrum and reaching six to seven meters in length.
Tapeworms are animals that stand out for their absence of mouth and gastrovascular cavity. These animals use the surface of their body to absorb the nutrients of foods eaten by humans and processed in the digestive system.
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the taeniasis
Taeniasis, also known as lonely, is worm intestinal which is characterized by the presence of the adult form of the parasites Taenia solium or Taenia Saginata in our body. The disease is contracted when a person eats undercooked or raw meat, from cattle or pigs, containing the so-called cysticerci.
Tapeworm life cycle
You swine and cattle are, respectively, the intermediate hosts gives Taenia solium and Taenia saginata. They become contaminated when they ingest food contaminated with eggs or proglottids that are eliminated in the environment with the feces of humans with taeniasis. After the eggs are ingested, they go through the digestive system and release an embryo, which penetrates the mucosa. intestinal, falls into the bloodstream and lodges in the animal's musculature, developing into a larval form named cysticercus.
The man gets taeniasis when feed on rare or raw meat containing the live cysticerci. The larvae are released, the tapeworm scolex attaches to the small intestine, and the parasite develops by feeding on the nutrients, released in the digestion process, by absorption by the body surface. The first proglottids are eliminated 60 to 70 days after fixation in the intestine. Each pregnant proglottid can have up to 40,000 eggs of the animal. Those eggs can survive for a long time in the external environment.
Read too: The curious case of tapeworm cell cancer
Taeniasis Symptoms
Taeniasis may present asymptomatically or trigger symptoms. Among the symptoms of taeniasis, we can mention:
Changes in appetite
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea or constipation
Weight loss
Nausea
vomiting
It is noteworthy that taeniasis can cause complications when the worm obstructs the appendix, common bile duct or pancreatic duct.
Diagnosis and treatment of taeniasis
Taeniasis is diagnosed by analyzing the symptoms of the patient and stool examination, in which the presence of proglottids and eggs in the material is analyzed. The treatment is medicated, with the use of dewormers such as mebendazole and albendazole.
prevention of taeniasis
Taeniasis is contracted when we eat contaminated meat that is undercooked or undercooked. Thus, to prevent ourselves, it is essential not to eat meat under these conditions. It is also recommended not to taste the meat before cooking it. Also, it is important know the origin of the meat we are buying, always making sure that the product has been released by the sanitary inspection.
Read more: Tips to Avoid Food Poisoning
Difference between taeniasis and cysticercosis
Taeniasis is an intestinal worm that is characterized by the presence of adult tapeworm in the intestine, and is contracted when meat containing the cysticercus is ingested. the cysticercosis, in turn, occurs when the human being ingests tapeworm eggs. The embryos are released into the intestine, reach the bloodstream, and the larvae attach to the fabrics.
These larvae can attach, for example, to the eyeball and the central nervous system, triggering, in the latter case, the call neurocysticercosis. It is noteworthy that many authors admit that the T. saginate rarely causes or is not responsible for the development of human cysticercosis.
By Vanessa Sardinha dos Santos
Biology teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "Taeniasis"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/doencas/teniase.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
