The broad-fledged tapeworm is the largest of all parasites in the human body - older specimens can be up to 15-20 m long! A person becomes infected with this tapeworm by eating undercooked, undercooked or poorly smoked fish meat infected with larvae.

The broad tapewormconsists of a characteristic head with longitudinal grooves attached on the sides, a neck and several thousand segments (3 - 4 thousand). It can reach up to 20 meters. It can exist in the human body from several to several dozen years. It differs from other types of tapeworms in that the mature eggs leave its members already in the intestine and with the faeces freely (and not in the tapeworm's body members) are excreted outside the human body. For further development, they must penetrate into the water to get successively to two intermediate hosts, e.g. for some freshwater fish - most often pike, perch, trout, salmon, but also found in marine fish: herring, mackerel, cod. The ultimate host of the tapeworm is a mammal, it may be a human who becomes infected by eating undercooked, under-fried or poorly smoked fish meat infected with larvae. When eaten with the fish, live larvae attach to the intestinal mucosa and begin to develop further. Within 5 - 6 weeks, they transform into mature parasites, producing several hundred thousand eggs a day.

Tapeworm symptoms

These include symptoms typical for infections with other tapeworms, such as:

  • stomach pains
  • headache
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • diarrhea
  • weakness.

Some patients develop symptoms of megaloblastic anemia, which is called sulcus pernicious anemia. The disease can be manifested by erythrocytopenia up to 2 or even 1 million red blood cells in 1 mm of blood, the appearance of nucleated erythrocytes, leukopenia, sometimes eosinophilia, a drop in hemoglobin levels to 25-50%. norms, pallor, weakness, disturbance of the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow. The reason for these symptoms may be the tapeworm's absorption of large amounts of vitamin B12 , as about half of the carriers show a significantly reduced level of this vitamin in the blood.

Important

According to some scientiststhe symptoms of sulcus capillary anemia depend on the location of the parasites - the closer they settle to the stomach, the more often anemia is observed. There is also a theory that only a tapeworm location close to the stomach causes anemia.

How do I get rid of a tapeworm?

Once a diagnosis is made, based on the detection of characteristic eggs or members of the tapeworm in the stool, the doctor prescribes appropriate anti-parasitic drugs. In people suffering from papillary anemia, it is enough to remove the parasite and compensate for vitamin B deficiency .

Important

» Avoid eating raw, semi-raw fish, as well as food products of their origin (roe, livers). Freezing, cooking, s alting and pickling the fish kill the larvae.» In endemic outbreaks, the risk can also be significantly reduced by properly securing the sewage to prevent contact of faeces (faeces) with water reservoirs.

Category:

Parasitic diseases