Taenia solium (Pork Tapeworm)

Taenia Solium (Pork Tapeworm) is a type of tapeworm with a circle of hooks in the front. It is common in central America, southern Asia and Africa. It can be transmitted through larvae in undercooked pork and through eggs by poor hygiene and the worm can become 2-7 meters long in the intestines.

Lifecycle

When a human ingests eggs from the worm it can become an invasive infection (cysticercosis) Then larvae from the eggs will attack tissue and muscles and also the central nervous system. The larvae can create cysts in various places and even in the brain, and cause inflammation and epilepsy. Taenia Solium is the most common reason for epileptic seizures in Adults.

Symptoms

The Pork Tapeworm rarely will give you any clear symptoms. It can cause a change in appetite (both increased and decreased), sporadic pains in the abdominal region or on the side, as well as digestive issues. In rare cases it will lead to cysticercosis that can cause inflammation and epileptic seizures.

Treatments

There are good pharmaceuticals to treat this infection. Both as a worm and against the cysts, though the cysts can also be surgically removed depending on location and other factors.

Sources: INTERNETMEDICIN, läkartidningen.se, CDC