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.
Taenia solium taeniasis is seen in the United States, typically among Latin American immigrants. Taenia asiatica is limited to Asia and is seen mostly in the Republic of Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Thailand. A disease called cysticercosis can occur when T. solium tapeworm eggs are ingested.
asiatica is limited to Asia and occurs mostly in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, India, and adjacent countries. Pigs are the intermediate hosts for T. asiatica. Humans are infected by eating cysticerci (larvae) in raw or undercooked pork.
Tapeworms live in human intestines, where they feed on the partially digested food there. The three common types of tapeworms are Taenia solium, found in pork; Taenia saginata, found in beef; and Diphyllobothrium latum, found in fish.
Prevalence, incidence, or number of cases [Ref.] The beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata, is the most common intestinal cestode in Poland,64 and is considered common in Eastern Europe,65 but with a far lower prevalence in Western Europe (as low as 0.01%).
Researchers found that among the overall population prevalence of tapeworm infection was 6 per cent, but in some schools the rate rose to 15 per cent or higher. The average prevalence of taenia solium infection in China was found to be 0.11 per cent.
Travelling directly between Finland and Norway requires no tapeworm treatment, because both countries are free of the echinococcus parasite.
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. Avoid raw fish and meat.
Tapeworm infections are rare in the United States. When they do happen, they're easy to treat. Often, people may not know they have a tapeworm infection because they have no symptoms or their symptoms are mild.
You can easily kill tapeworms with anthelmintic drugs, including praziquantel (Biltricide®), albendazole (Albenza®) and nitazoxanide (Alinia®). Healthcare providers usually recommend praziquantel because it also paralyzes the worm, forcing it to dislodge from your intestinal wall.
Gnathostomiasis is most commonly diagnosed in Asia, particularly in Thailand, other parts of Southeast Asia, and Japan.
Tapeworms are usually found in humans after they have eaten undercooked pork, beef or fish. Microbiology experts examined an egg obtained from the tapeworm and say it most closely resembled those of fish tapeworms. Prof Hsu said cases of fish tapeworms are on the rise in Singapore, where sushi is becoming more popular.
That's 18 percent of the US population.
Approximately 50 million persons are infected with both parasites worldwide; some 50,000 die of cysticercosis annually. In the US, laws governing feeding practices and inspection of domestic food animals have largely eliminated the problem of tapeworm.
There is neither a mouth nor a digestive tract. Tapeworms also lack a circulatory system and an organ specialized for gas exchange.
Adult tapeworms may measure 4-28 inches in length. As the tapeworm matures inside the intestine, these segments (proglottids) break off and pass into the stool.
Left untreated, adult tapeworms can live in a host body for up to 30 years. Their length varies, but they can grow to be anywhere from 6 to 22 feet.
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.
Anyone who has a tapeworm will need medical treatment to get rid of it. Treatment is about 95% effective and typically takes a few days.
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.
The greatest diversity of human parasites is found on the Eurasian continent, but when controlled for population the greatest concentration of human parasites is found in Africa.