The pork tapeworm

Taenia solium

This boy has a tapeworm growing inside him.

It eats our food and

can grow up to 3 metres long.

The pork tapeworm lives inside the small intestine.

small intestine

How does it spread?

Tapeworm segments come out with the faeces

releasing thousands of eggs

into the environment.

You can see the tapeworm segments

in the faeces.

They spread easily and contaminate

the soil and water supply.

But the tapeworm eggs

are too small to see.

The eggs spread easily

Worm eggs get onto our hands, food and drinking

water.

Tapeworm eggs grow into cysts in the brain, eyes and muscles

causing epilepsy (fits), blindness, paralysis,

severe headaches, insanity and even death.

Swallowing tapeworm eggs is dangerous.

Brain damagecaused by tapeworm

cysts.

Free-range pigs get infected

by eating human faeces containing tapeworm

eggs.

Pigs get infected

Pork infected with cysts.

The eggs grow into cysts and can be found in

infected meat.

People get tapeworms

from eating cystsin undercooked meat.

The life cycle (Neurocystercycosis transmission)

The pork tapeworm solutions.ppt