Taeniasis

Synonyms

Taenosis; Adult tapeworm infection

Definition and Characteristics

Taeniasis in humans results from intestinal infection with the adult stage of tapeworm of the genus Taenia. The most common are Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm) and T. solium (pork tapeworm). The adult tapeworm has a head (scolex), a short neck, and a ribbon-like body (strobila) consisting of segments (proglottids). T. saginata usually measures 4-10 m, with 1,000-2,000 proglottids whereas T. solium usually measures 2-8 m, with 800-900 proglottids. The scolex of T. saginata measures 1-2 mm in diameter, has four suckers and no hooks. The scolex of T. solium is about 1 mm in diameter, possesses four suckers, and is armed with a double row of hooklets. Each proglottid contains male and female reproductive system. The gravid proglottids each are packed with 50,000-100,000 eggs [1]. The proglottids of T. saginata usually have more than 20 uterine branches from a central uterine structure, whereas those