A 50-year-old man from Thai Nguyen has a habit of eating raw food and blood pudding with high frequency. 10 years ago, he had to be treated for parasitic worms. This time, he saw worms in his stool so he went to get checked.
Test results showed that he was infected with parasites, specifically tapeworms. After treatment, the patient passed about 10 meters of tapeworms.
According to doctors from the Department of Viruses and Parasitology, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, this case requires hospitalization because deworming at home is not clean and safe, and can easily spread to others.
In addition, it is not possible to monitor how the patient takes the medicine and how the worm comes out.
To completely remove the worm, both the segment and the head of the worm must be removed. If the segment and head of the worm remain, it will continue to develop (like this patient who had already removed the worm but it was not completely gone).
Tapeworm disease is associated with the habit of eating raw or undercooked pork/beef. (Illustration photo)
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Deputy Head of the Department of Viruses and Parasitology, said, “Taeniasis is caused by adult tapeworms including Taenia saginata, Taenia solium and Taenia asiatica that parasitize the intestines. Tapeworms can parasitize humans in the form of adult worms and larvae.”
Human tapeworm disease is usually caused by pork tapeworm and beef tapeworm. Tapeworm disease is associated with the habit of eating raw or undercooked pork/beef.
When pork is rare, meaning not fully cooked, the egg and cyst forms of the pork tapeworm can still survive and spread into the human body through eating.
Beef tapeworm usually parasitizes the lean meat of cattle and especially in the internal organs. In addition, it can parasitize ectopically in some other animals such as pigs.
Therefore, if we eat dishes made from undercooked beef and pork, we are at risk of tapeworm infection.
Tapeworms can cause nonspecific symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, or constipation as the tapeworms grow in the intestines.
Pork tapeworm disease occurs when pork tapeworm eggs are ingested. Pork tapeworm eggs are excreted in the feces of infected people, which can contaminate water and soil, and can contaminate foods such as raw vegetables and aquatic vegetables exposed to tapeworm eggs.
Pork tapeworm larvae can develop in the muscles, skin, eyes, and central nervous system. Severe cases can cause severe headaches, vomiting, convulsions, or epilepsy.
To prevent tapeworm disease, experts recommend that people should eat well-cooked food and drink boiled water; avoid eating raw or undercooked food; and maintain environmental hygiene.
People need to practice proper hand hygiene, washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet.
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