Taenia solium

Uncommon card · No. 170056

Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm, belongs to the cyclophyllid cestode family Taeniidae. It is found throughout the world and is most common in countries where pork is eaten. It is a tapeworm that uses humans (Homo sapiens) as its definitive host and pigs and boars (family Suidae) as the intermediate or secondary hosts. It is transmitted to pigs through human feces that contain the parasite eggs and contaminate their fodder. Pigs ingest the eggs, which develop into larvae, then into oncospheres, and ultimately into infective tapeworm cysts, called cysticerci. Humans acquire the cysts through consumption of uncooked or undercooked pork and the cysts grow into adult worms in the small intestine. There are two forms of human infection. One is "primary hosting", called taeniasis, and is due to eating undercooked pork that contains the cysts, resulting in adult worms in the intestines. This form generally is without symptoms; the infected person does not know they have tapeworms. This form is...

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