Tapeworm
Disease/Infection
What is Tapeworm Disease?
Tapeworm
disease is an infection of the animal digestive tracks; tapeworms more
specifically target intestinal routes such as the small intestine and large
intestine. There are a wide range of different tapeworms that are found in
different animals, some species of tapeworms such as the commonly found beef
tapeworm can be found in humans. The beef tapeworm are the most commonly type
of tapeworm found in north America, but there are also several other types that
can be transmitted into humans such as pork tapeworms or fish tapeworms.
Tapeworms
are a type of intestinal parasite that needs a host, for example: pigs, cows,
fish, or even humans. In humans, tape worms are usually found inside the small
intestine, they hook themselves onto the walls of our intestines and feed on
the partially digested food that travels through.
Basically
if you have tapeworm disease, you have a family of parasite worms living in
your intestinal tracks.
What is a Tapeworm?
The
first evidence of tapeworm dates back all the way one million seven hundred
years ago (Buzzle.com, R. Putaunda, 2011). At this time, the only real
interaction humans had with animals was the relationship between hunters and
prays, in other words eating them for food. We did not have farms, or raise
animals, or genetically modify our food, thus tapeworm originated from and
spread to humans because it was naturally found inside animals.
Tapeworms
have three sections to their bodies, the head, neck, and body known as the proglottids. The head of the tapeworm
contain hooks that allow the worm to grab onto the inner intestinal walls of
the host and happily stay there until they die or are removed, a tapeworm can
generally live with only its head. The body, or proglottids of the tapeworm is
a long strip can range from anywhere between 6 inches to twenty feet long as an
adult. The proglottids also contains eggs that can be released and spread
throughout our body, being a parasite that contains both male and female
organs, tapeworms can easily reproduce and infest the intestine at a fairly
fast rate. Tapeworms feed off the partially digested food coming through our
intestines by absorbing it through the outer layer of its body and digesting it
itself. (medical-dictionary, 2004)
Tapeworm Disease symptoms
Generally,
a tapeworm infection presents no symptoms or major complications to the victim.
In fact, most people infected with tapeworm disease do not even know that they
have it! Victims with the infection most commonly discover their problem when
they spot tapeworm segments in their feces. In rare cases, symptoms such as
nausea, frequent diarrhea, weakness, and abdominal pain and discomfort are the
only signs of intestinal tapeworm infection a victim would ever experience. The
most common symptom of a tapeworm infection is the need to eat more frequently.
Long story short, it is hard to spot a tapeworm disease, and if you are
infected, it causes no real danger.
Although
in most cases tapeworms do not cause any major or even noticeable symptoms, it
can cause a blockage in the intestinal track on rare occasions. In other words,
this screws up your digestive system because your food is stuck in your
intestine. The build up of tapeworm can slowly cause blockages in your
intestines, most commonly in your small intestine, this might take years but
there are cases where this was an issue. Frequent abdominal pain is a sign for
a possible tapeworm blockage in your digestive system.
Intestinal
parasites such as the tapeworm usually linger in our intestinal tracks but they
can also be transferred to other parts of our body such as our appendix,
pancreas, or even bile duct. Unsanitary environments and careless behavior can
occasionally transfer premature tapeworm eggs to parts of our body such as our
nervous system. Tapeworms in our nervous system can potentially cause seizures
and headaches; this can be a dangerous concern if the issue is not properly
taken care of (medical-dictionary,
2004).
Issues
in society contributing to tapeworm disease
In today’s society, tapeworm disease is
highly unlikely in developed countries due to the high level of sanitation and
in depth safety precautions that are required to be looked upon in our foods.
In other parts of the world that are not as developed or advanced, tapeworm
infection rates sky rocket. An estimated one thousand people in United States
are infected with the tapeworm disease, but as we look at this at a larger
scale, fifty million people are estimated to be infected around the world.
Proper disposal of meat and feces, proper storage of meat, and preparing meats
correctly are simple things that could easily prevent tapeworm disease. In some
parts of the world though, precautions such as feces disposal and proper meat
treatment are not available or even possible. Given the ability to dispose of
feces in poorer and undeveloped countries could make a huge difference in the
number of people affected by the tapeworm disease. Not everyone is as lucky as
we are, but we can still help by preventing the spread of tapeworm within
ourselves.
The most common reason for tapeworm
infection in North America is undercooked
meat. Cooking our meat to the recommended temperature not only eliminates the
possibility of tapeworm eggs, but it also kills any infectious parasites that
could be in the meat. The problem with today’s society is that we are lazy, and
we are getting lazier as technology and our surrounding evolves to make our
lives easier. The idea of proper storage of meat and proper preparation of meat
is often put aside as we feel that it is not necessary, or because we are
simply lazy to do it. With every piece of meat that is undercooked or
improperly stored we increase the chance of tapeworm infection to the person consuming
the meat. Tapeworm infections are completely avoidable given that the proper
precautions are taken. Personally, in a developed area such as North America , it is sad to see that tapeworm infections
are even a problem considering that we can easily completely eliminate the
contributions to the disease.
Technology
Tapeworm infection is curable. Since tapeworm is a
rather large parasite living inside a person, it can easily be removed with the
right treatment. Yet, some people don’t need to be treated, because they exit
their body on its own. But in most cases, it is recommended that the host
should get treatment just to be on the safe side.
The
most common treatment for a tapeworm infection is through oral medications that
are toxic towards tapeworms. These medications include, Praziquantel (Biltrcide), Albendazole (Albenza), Nitazoxanide (Alinia).
Each drug is prescribed depending on the species of the tapeworm and the
location of the infection. But, these drugs only target the hatched tapeworms, not the eggs, it is best to take
the medication regularly to kill the adult and the future tapeworms.(Mayoclinic, 2011)
Sometimes,
tapeworm can be found in another part of your body other than your intestine,
and their called invasive infections. They’re invasive because they invade
other parts of your body, slowly eating the life off of you and infecting your body as it moves. However, there are
treatments that can cure that problem. But without treatment, this can lead to
death.
Some
of these treatments include:
-Anthelmintic drugs: Albendazole (Albenza) can shrink some tapeworm cysts (Disease/infection caused by infection from the eggs). Basically, stop the infection that the tapeworm causes.
-Anti-inflammatory therapy: Tapeworm cysts can cause swelling or
inflammation in tissues or organs, medication such as prednisone or dexamethasone
is to reduce inflammation.
-Anti-epileptic therapy: If the disease is causing
seizures, anti-epileptic medications can stop them.
-Shunt placement: One type of invasive infection can cause
too much fluid on the brain, called hydrocephalus. The common procedure is by
placing a permanent shunt, or tube, in your head to drain the fluid.
-Surgery: Whether
cysts can be removed surgically depends on their location and symptoms. Cysts
that develop in the liver, lungs and eyes are typically removed, since they can
eventually threaten organ function. But an alternative way can be done by using
drainage tube as an alternative to surgery. The tube allows aggressive rinsing
(irrigation) of the area with anti-parasitic solutions. (Mayoclinic, 2011)
Preventions
Prevention from tapeworm
infection can be done fairly easily. Some of these preventions include:
·
Wash
your hands with soap and water before eating or handling food and after using
the toilet.
·
When
traveling in areas where tapeworm is more common, wash and cook all fruits and
vegetables with safe water before eating.
·
Eliminate
livestock exposure to tapeworm eggs by properly disposing of animal and human
feces.
·
Thoroughly
cook meat at temperatures of at least 52°C to kill tapeworm eggs or larvae.
·
Freeze
meat for at least 12 hours and fish for at least 24 hours to kill tapeworm eggs
and larvae.
·
Avoid
eating raw or undercooked pork, beef and fish.
·
Promptly
treat dogs infected with tapeworm.
How many tapeworms can live inside you?
Lets find out!
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=how-many-tapeworms-can-live-inside-you
"Fun" Experiment At Home
( we are not responsible for anything that may happen to you, do at own risk)
Lets find out!
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=how-many-tapeworms-can-live-inside-you
"Fun" Experiment At Home
( we are not responsible for anything that may happen to you, do at own risk)
1. Buy any type of meat
2. Cook the meat for 1 minute or less (or just skip this step)
3. Eat (add extra stuff for that "zing" taste)
4. Examine your feces to see if there are "life" for the next few weeks (you will be a (man)mother!)
5. Go to a doctor to get tapeworms removed if it is successful (OPTIONAL STEP)
6. If you skipped step 5, good job, you're either going to die or the tapeworm will come out of you anus.
If you completed the experiment, you'll receive a free cookie (or a bowl of rice) in the next year. Satisfaction guarantee.