Key points
- Taeniasis, or human tapeworm, is a parasitic infection caused by three tapeworm species.
- You can get human tapeworm by eating raw or undercooked beef or pork that contain the parasite.
- Humans are the only hosts for these tapeworms.
Causes
Human taeniasis is a parasitic infection caused by three tapeworm species, T. saginata (known as the beef tapeworm), T. solium (pork tapeworm), and T. asiatica (the Asian tapeworm). Humans are the only hosts for these Taenia tapeworms.
How it spreads
Humans pass the tapeworm segments and/or eggs in feces and contaminate the soil in areas where sanitation is poor. Taenia eggs can survive in a moist environment and remain infective for days to months.
Cows and pigs become infected after feeding in areas that are contaminated with Taenia eggs from human feces. Once inside the cow or pig, the Taenia eggs hatch in the animal's intestine and migrate to striated muscle to develop into cysticerci, causing a disease known as cysticercosis. Cysticerci can survive for several years in animal muscle.
Humans become infected with tapeworms when they eat raw or undercooked beef or pork containing infective cysticerci. Once inside humans, Taenia cysticerci migrate to the small intestine and mature to adult tapeworms, which produce segments and eggs that are passed in feces.
