The main risk factor for tapeworm infection is eating raw or undercooked meat and fish. Dried and smoked fish also may have larval cysts in them. Poor hygiene. Poor handwashing increases the risk of getting and spreading infections.
Tapeworm infection occurs around the world, particularly in countries where people commonly eat raw meat and fish and where sanitation is less rigorous. In the U.S., tapeworm infection is rare, but U.S. citizens can get an infection while traveling and bring it back with them.
Tapeworms are uncommon in the U.S. today because of laws on feeding practices and inspection of the animals we use for food. You can further reduce your risk of tapeworms by washing your hands before and after using the toilet and by following these food safety tips.
Symptoms. Most people feel no different than usual when they have a tapeworm in their intestines. Symptoms that could show up include nausea, appetite loss, weight loss, diarrhea, belly pain, dizziness, or salt cravings.
Humans become infected by eating raw or undercooked infected beef or pork. Once ingested, cysticerci attach to the small intestine and develop into adult tapeworms over the course of 2 months.
Many times, people can be infected for long periods of time without even knowing they have a tapeworm infection. While viral or bacterial infections can disappear in a matter of days or weeks, a tapeworm could be with you for years.
Diagnosis for tapeworm infection is usually done through detection of eggs and proglottids (worm segments) via a stool test, although many patients' tapeworms are detected when they find proglottids in their own stool or in the toilet. It's not possible to determine which species of tapeworm is present without testing.
Tapeworms are the flatworms that live in the human digestive tract. If you suspect you might have tapeworms, you need to visit a doctor for stool sample analysis, a blood test, and imaging tests.
Tapeworms can be contagious for humans and other pets. Humans rarely contract dipylidium caninum, as it requires ingesting fleas, but this parasite can spread to other household dogs through the intermediate flea host. Cats can contract some species of tapeworms, like taenia species.
Deworming is not always necessary, but is recommended for children who live in endemic areas once a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted parasitic worms in the community is over 20% and twice a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted parasitic worms in the community is 50%.
The CDC estimated that fewer than 1,000 people in the United States are infected with a tapeworm each year.
If you have tapeworms, you may not have any symptoms. You may also notice symptoms such as: nausea or diarrhea, abdominal pain, hunger or loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness, weight loss, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and tapeworm segments visible in your bowel movements.
A tapeworm in the intestines often causes mild symptoms. Moderate to severe symptoms may include stomach pain and diarrhea. Larval cysts can cause serious disease if they are in a person's brain, liver, lungs, heart or eyes.
The cure rate for tapeworm infestation is greater than 95% in patients who receive appropriate treatment.
The highest rates of infection are found in areas of Latin America, Asia, and Africa that have poor sanitation and free-ranging pigs that have access to human feces. Although uncommon, cysticercosis can occur in people who have never traveled outside of the United States.
Your health care provider treats a tapeworm infection in the intestines with anti-parasitic drugs. These include: Praziquantel (Biltricide). Albendazole.
Although adult tapeworms in the intestine usually cause no symptoms, some people experience upper abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and other symptoms. Occasionally, people with a tapeworm can feel a piece of the worm move out through the anus or see part of the ribbon-like tapeworm in stool.
If you have a tapeworm infection, you may not have any symptoms. But some people have nausea, stomach pain, weakness, or diarrhea. You might notice a change in appetite (eating more or less than usual). And since the tapeworm keeps your body from absorbing nutrients from food, you may lose weight.
Tapeworms are common parasitic afflictions that cats and dogs alike can come down with. These white parasites can be found around dog feces, in a cat's litter box or even on sofas and pet bedding. Tapeworms can look similar to little grains of rice or longer spaghetti-like segments.
Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. In one study, researchers found that a mixture of honey and papaya seeds cleared stools of parasites in 23 out of 30 subjects. Drink a lot of water to help flush out your system.
Taeniasis can cause mild and non-specific symptoms, including abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea or constipation when the tapeworms become fully developed in the intestine.
How common is taeniasis? Approximately 50 million persons are infected with both parasites worldwide; some 50,000 die of cysticercosis annually.