Tape worm infection is one of the most horrific parasitic infections

07 July, 2012

Tapeworm infection is a digestive tract infection that's caused by taking food that's under-cooked or the water is contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larva. Tapeworm is basically a parasite, which can survive inside the intestine of a person, and in medical terminology they are known as cestodes.

THE LARVA of the tapeworm develops into an adult tapeworm inside the human intestine. An adult tapeworm develops head, neck and proglottids (chain of segments). The head of the tape worm adheres to the intestinal wall of the affected individuals, and the chain of segments grows into the intestine and produces eggs. It can survive for twenty years inside the intestine of the host. The adult tapeworm present in the intestine usually causes less infection, but the invasive larval infections causes serious complications.

The most common types of tapeworm infection is 'taeniasis', it is caused by a tapeworm of the genus Taenia. The two important pathogens of the genus are Taenia solium (the pork tapeworm) and Taenia saginata (the beef tapeworm). Teniasis is usually caused by under-cooked contaminated meat. These infections are known as zoonotic infections as they are transmitted through animals. Teniasis is more common in underdeveloped countries where the sanitation and hygienic conditions are very poor, reported the medical website medindia.

The infections of tapeworm are of two types namely invasive tapeworm infection and intestinal tapeworm infection. The tapeworm infection symptoms depends on the type of tapeworm. The intestinal tapeworm infection symptoms are abdominal pain, weakness, nausea, loss of apetite, diarrhea and weight loss. Whereas the invasive tapeworm infection symptoms results in fever, bacterial infections, cystic masses, allergic reactions to the larva and neurological symptoms like seizures.

If you consult your family physician and tell him the about the above symptoms then your physician may ask you to have one of the following tests:

Stool sample analysis – for intestinal tapeworm infection, the sample of your stool will be collected and microscopic identification will be done for the presence of eggs or tapeworm segments in the stool.

Blood test – for invasive tapeworm infection, a blood test will be done for the detection of antibodies, which the body may have produced against tapeworm infection.

Sometimes, tapeworm infection treatment is not needed as the tapeworm exits on its own from the body of the host. But if you are diagnosed with the infection then the doctor will prescribe you some medication for it. The medication for tapeworm infection depends on the species of tapeworm involved. The tapeworm infection medications targets the adult tapeworm only, the eggs are not affected by the drugs, reported the website mayoclinic.

Invasive tapeworm infection treatment includes anti-inflammatory therapy, anti-epileptic therapy, shunt placement and surgery. The tapeworm infection medications includes Praziquantel (Biltricide), Albendazole (Albenza) and Nitazoxanide (Alinia). Self-care at home by maintaining proper hygiene and washing the hands after using toilets or before eating are a need for a proper treatment.