Tapeworms belong to a branch of the platyhelminths known as cestodes

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Tapeworms belong to a branch of the platyhelminths known as the

cestodes and are entirely parasitic.

 

They consist of an anchoring organ or scolex which attaches them to

the intestinal wall with suckers or hooks to help it hold fast.

Growing out behind the scolex are proglottids - repeating organs which

are complete reproductive organisms in themselves. These continue to

grow out from the scolex in a chain until the last segments break off

and are passed out with the faeces.

 

Adult tapeworms do not feed off humans, but rather take our digested

food. Tapeworms lack a digestive tract and absorb nutrients directly

across the skin or cuticle. Health problems occur when the tapeworm

becomes too large and blocks the bowel, robbing us of nutrients.

 

Tapeworms may grow to a reasonable size and, because they are found

deep in the tissue, may start taking up valuable space. If the cyst

settles in the brain, eye or liver, normal function of these organs

may be severely restricted.

The Beef Tapeworm

 

A complete specimen may grow to 8m in length - nearly the length of

the digestive tract of an adult human. With such a large body, these

worms can cause nutritional deficiencies. The intermediate host for

this worm is the cow. Apart from nutritional problems, this tapeworm

generally causes mild to moderate abdominal symptoms (nausea, pain, etc).

The Pork Tapeworm

A relative of the Beef Tapeworm the intermediate host of this parasite

is the pig. Humans are infected by eating undercooked pork. It is

slightly smaller than the beef tapeworm but more dangerous. If someone

has a pork tapeworm, they pose a risk to themselves and others around

them of developing cysticercosis. These cycticerci may lodge in the

brain, eye or muscle, causing serious problems.

 

The Broad Fish Tapeworm

 

This tapeworm is found in large marine fish. If the flesh of these

fish containing the parasite is served raw (commonly as sushi or

sashimi) or undercooked, the adult tapeworm may develop in humans.

The Dog Tapeworm

 

A common parasite found in domestic dogs.

 

This parasite grows to 10-15cm. Individual segments resemble cucumber

seeds in size and shape. The intermediate host for dog tapeworms are

dog and cat fleas. When the flea bites, the dog may bite at the flea

and swallow the larval tapeworm.

 

If humans swallow infected fleas, they may become infected. Allowing

the dog to lick your face may transfer the larval tapeworms to your

mouth. Crushing fleas between your fingernails spreads the parasites

across your hands. Dogs should be routinely wormed

The Hydatid Tapeworm

 

This tapeworm normally cycles between carnivores such as dogs, wolves

or foxes and herbivores such as sheep.

 

If a human should ingest eggs from dog's faeces, the hydatid cysts can

grow in the liver and lungs and also in the brain.

 

 

CAN PARASITES KILL YOU ? YES!!! READ NEWSPAPER REPORTS

 

 

 

Boy Hospitalized After Tapeworm Enters Brain!

 

SYLMAR, Calif. -- A 10-year-old boy suffered a seizure after a

tapeworm got into his brain. The boy was in critical condition Friday

night at Children's hospital in Los Angeles, where he was breathing

with help from a ventilator... The worms are ingested as eggs, which

enter the bloodstream through the intestines before attacking other

organs. People get the illness either by eating pork that has not

been cooked adequately or through contact with faecal bacteria, which

could taint food if cooks fail to wash their hands after leaving the

restroom..

 

--Times Union, Albany, New York

August 1997

 

Parasites in Food and WaterMake Thousands Sick!

 

" ..when parasites in the water make 400,000 people sick in Milwaukee,

as they did four years ago, and 100 of them die, and when we know that

increasingly here they get into our bodies through unwashed fruit or

vegetables, undercooked meat or fish... "

 

--ABC World News

May 1997

 

New Parasite Killed AIDS Patient

 

SAN FRANCISCO - A type of parasite never before seen by doctors was

responsible for the death of a Bay Area AIDS patient, say doctors at

Stanford University Medical Center and Kaiser-Permanente Medical

Center. Although the man died two years ago, it has taken doctors this

long to understand the nature of the parasite. The still-unnamed

parasite, a distant relative of the tapeworm, formed a large growth in

the patient's abdomen and destroyed three-fourths of his liver.

Stressing the parasite's freak nature, doctors said there is no

evidence that the parasite poses a general threat, even to those with

AIDS. The parasite may be normally restricted to other animals but

grew in an AIDS patient because his immune system was so weak. " We do

not want people to become afraid over this one report. This is a very

rare case, " said Dr. Luis Fajardo. " If more are found, then there may

be reason to worry. " Fajardo is a pathologist at Stanford and chief of

pathology at the Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care

System. The parasite appears to have been more aggressive than

tapeworms or other common parasites. Tapeworms usually remain in the

intestine, eating digested food and ignoring surrounding organs. This

parasite, however, spread from the intestines in a large, tumour-like

mass. Doctors are unsure whether that mass was a tangle of large tubes

or a group of smaller organisms. The patient, identified only as an

accountant, was admitted to Kaiser in March 1994. Already diagnosed

with AIDS, he suffered from back and abdominal pain, weight loss,

night sweats and fevers. He died after nine weeks in the hospital. An

account of the parasite is published in Thursday's issue of the

British medical journal Lancet. The main authors are Fajardo, Dr.

Monica Santamaria-Fries of Kaiser and Dr. David Relman, a Stanford

assistant professor of medicine.

 

Associated Press

June 1996

 

" Mad Cow Unleashes Fury "

 

" Mad Cow " disease is no longer a joke in the media. Reuters News

Service reports that scientists have found new evidence linking the

disorder to a fatal brain disease. At least 21 people in the U.K. and

France have been diagnosed with a rare form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob

include depression, hallucinations, and memory loss. Patients rarely

live beyond a year after diagnosis. New studies also concluded that

brain tissue from both infected cattle and humans show a nearly

identical pattern when injected into mice- raising the possibility

that an epidemic of human disease could become a problem. The

incubation period for " Mad Cow " disease in humans can be years or even

decades.

 

Reuters News Service

September 30, 1997

 

Parasite on raspberries, lettuce makes hundreds sick

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 1,400 Americans may have been sickened

with the parasite cyclospora so far this year, most from outbreaks

linked to fresh raspberries, lettuce and possibly basil, the

government said Wednesday.

The latest patients are about 200 people in a Washington-area outbreak

associated with either a basil-pesto sauce or fresh basil served by a

gourmet food caterer.

Preliminary figures released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention show several hundred more cyclospora patients

this year than in 1996 - but it doesn't necessarily mean the bug is

increasing. Doctors intensified tracking of cyclospora patients this

year to learn more about the mysterious parasitic illness discovered

in 1989.

Now health officials are struggling to detect tainted produce to

prevent symptoms caused by the parasite, said Food and Drug

Administration food safety chief Janice Oliver.

Cyclospora experts meeting Wednesday in Washington suggested a

possible way: Track another bug, eimeria, that does not cause sickness

but that often accompanies cyclosporae and is easier to detect.

``We are analyzing products (for eimeria) and will continue to do

that'' to see if it proves a good cyclospora indicator, Oliver said.

Researchers also are testing whether irradiation or ozone treatment

would kill the parasite without hurting fresh produce. Cooking kills

cyclosporae, and freezing may as well.)

The FDA does not know whether domestic or foreign produce poses the

bigger risk. The largest outbreak so far has been from Guatemalan

raspberries, but the FDA has been unable to prove the origin of other

outbreaks.

Cyclosporae cause diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, fatigue and muscle

aches. The illness can last several weeks, and sufferers often need

treatment with antibiotics.

 

 

Associated Press

July 23, 1997