From a cunning parasite to some of the most shocking cases involving it, this is what
happens when tapeworms attack
The tapeworm, or Cestoda, is a parasitic, segmented flatworm known for invading vertebrate
animals and living inside their intestines.
They can also infest the human body and several species are known to cause diseases.
Tapeworms don’t have mouths and get their nutrients directly from the host’s gut.
They are hermaphrodites and each segment of their bodies, called proglottids, contains
a complete sexually mature reproductive system.
The neck continually produces proglottids.
Therefore, tapeworms can grow to be over 26 feet long and may live up to three decades
in a single human host.
Number 5 Case in Singapore Despite having no symptoms, a Singapore man
found that a giant tapeworm had been living in his intestine.
Microbiology experts at Singapore General Hospital had to fold the parasite eighteen
times just so that it would fit in a picture.
The patient was horrified when the worm was passed out via the rectum.
It was roughly nine feet long.
The man loved sushi and doctors suspect that’s where he got the tapeworm from.
While it’s unclear how long the man had the infection, judging by the sheer size of
the parasite, it may have been several years.
Before we move on, answer this question.
What was the tapeworm marketed as at some point in the early 20th century?
a.
A source of vitamins b.
Muscle Relaxers c.
Slimming tablets d.
A skincare product Let us know what you think in the comments
section below and stay tuned to find out the right answer.
Tapeworm infections are caused by ingesting undercooked meat prepared in poor hygienic
conditions.
The most common intermediate hosts are pigs, cows, and marine life.
As such, transmission to humans often occurs from eating infested pork, beef, and fish.
It can also parasitize pets.
Tapeworm infections in dogs or cats are a rather common occurrence.
The Taenia tapeworm genus is one of the most dangerous livestock parasites and it’s also
known to cause disease in humans.
Number 4 Case in China Doctors in China treated a young man who’d
been living with a tapeworm in his brain for over 15 years.
He reportedly had coordination problems, muscle weakness and trouble speaking or swallowing.
After a scan revealed the tapeworm in his brain, the doctors operated on him to remove
the parasite.
It was later identified as a Sparganum mansoni, a type of tapeworm that’s common in cats
and dogs but rare in humans.
It turns out that the man had suffered a fracture when he was nine years old and had tried to
hasten his recovery by eating live frogs.
This is a traditional Chinese remedy and most likely how he’d gotten the tapeworm infection.
Doctors believe that one or more of the amphibians were carrying larvae.
Once a tapeworm finds its way in your stomach, it uses its fours suckers and two rings of
hooks to anchor itself to the walls of your intestine.
It then proceeds to steal nutrients from your diet by absorbing whatever food passes its
way through your intestines.
Death, in severe infections, may occur due to starvation and malnourishment.
In addition, the tapeworm can also make its way into your brain, form cysts and cause
potentially-fatal neurological problems.
Cysts can be formed in virtually any tissue of the human body.
That’s because tapeworm larvae can burrow through the intestine wall and travel through
the bloodstream.
Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm, is among the most dangerous tapeworms and
it can cause neurocysticercosis.
The condition is manifested through cysts that take hold of the brain causing seizures.
According to the World Health Organization, tapeworm infections are the leading cause
of epilepsy worldwide.
The pork tapeworm as well as the beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata, can also cause taeniasis.
Its symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness and loss
of appetite.
Number 3 Indian Teenager An unnamed 18-year-old man from India went
to the emergency room where he told the doctors he’d been having seizures.
The teenager appeared to be confused and had trouble walking.
He was actually suffering from tonic-clonic seizures, which cause loss of consciousness
and violent muscle contractions.
The man also had swelling in his right eye and complained of pain in his groin.
Doctors performed an MRI and found that the man’s cortex and his brain stem were riddled
with tapeworm cysts.
Additionally, they discovered a number of well-defined cysts in the man’s eye and
in his right testicle.
Tapeworm larvae can sometimes migrate out of the intestines and spread to other parts
of the body, which is what happened in this case.
Doctors chose not to give the man anti-parasitic medication out of concerns that it could have
worsened the swelling in his brain.
There was also a risk of him going blind because of the cysts above his right eye.
Instead, they gave him anti-seizure medication and dexamethasone, a steroid used to reduce
inflammation.
The infection was so advanced that there was nothing more they could do for him.
The 18-year-old passed away several weeks later.
Some tapeworm infections may never require treatment as the tapeworm will exit the body
by passing through the rectum.
It’s possible for a patient to never know they have a tapeworm infection, as symptoms
don’t always occur.
Some cases will require medicines such as Praziquantel, Nitazoxanide or Albendazole.
They have been proven to be effective against adult tape worms and in shrinking cysts.
To prevent reinfection, the recommendation is maintaining proper hand hygiene and consuming
beef, pork or fish from trusted sources.
Doctors may also ask the patient to undergo enema treatment in order to completely remove
the flatworm from their system.
Cysts formed in the liver, eye or lungs may be surgically removed, to maintain proper
organ function.
In rare cases, the infection may cause the accumulation of too much fluid in the brain,
a condition known as hydrocephalus.
Doctors might recommend placing a permanent tube inside a patient’s head, in order to
drain the fluid.
So, what were tapeworms marketed as in the early 20th century?
The right answer was c, slimming tablets.
Tapeworm eggs were presented to the public as the “sanitized” and “jar packed”
banishers of fat with the promise of no ill side effects.
Despite the dangers of tapeworm infections, they’ve sporadically re-emerged as an alleged
fat-loss option.
Number 2 Michael Mosley While others on our list didn’t mean to
get a tapeworm infection, BBC’s Michael Mosley purposefully sought it out.
The investigative journalist swallowed three Taenia saginata larvae, which he got from
infected cattle in Kenya.
He then swallowed a pill camera so that he could document the process on his IPad.
Mosley hoped that the experience would aid researchers in determining the early signs
of a tapeworm infection.
He was at an Indian restaurant when he saw that three tapeworms, about 3 feet in length,
had become attached to the lining of his intestine.
To the shock and surprise of other diners, Mosley reportedly shouted out “Blimey!
There’s a tapeworm in me!”
He had no symptoms whatsoever, but he suspects that the infection may have increased his
appetite as he gained about 2.2 pounds.
Number 1 Teenager in the US When an American teenager was admitted to
the ER with severe stomach cramps, doctors suspected she was pregnant.
However, an ultrasound soon ruled it out.
The nurses heard her scream and found her over a toilet bowl full of tapeworms.
Some of them were very long and trying to crawl out of the toilet bowl.
It turns out that the teen’s mother had fed her tapeworm eggs in an effort to get
her to lose weight for a beauty pageant.
Nurses heard the tearful woman as she apologized to her daughter.
She reportedly told the teenager that she “needed some help” before the contest.
The woman admitted that she’d bought the tapeworm eggs in Mexico.
After the eggs hatched, her daughter’s intestine became riddled with tapeworms, which caused
her severe abdominal pain.
Thanks for watching!
Would you let a tapeworm grow in your stomach for a year if it meant at the end you’d
get $1 million in cash?
Let us know in the comments section bellow!