What is the life cycle of teniasolium?

Answer 1

Life cycle of T. solium. Click the image to see it full-size

This infection is caused by ingestion of eggs shed in the feces of a human tapeworm carrier. Pigs and humans become infected by ingesting eggs or gravid proglottids. Humans are infected either by ingestion of food contaminated with feces containing eggs, or by autoinfection. In the latter case, a human infected with adult T. solium can ingest eggs produced by that tapeworm, either through fecal contamination or, possibly, fromproglottids carried into the stomach by reverse peristalsis. Once eggs are ingested, oncospheres hatch in the intestine, invade the intestinal wall, and migrate to striated muscles, as well as the brain, liver, and other tissues, where they develop into cysticerci. In humans, cysts can cause serious sequelae if they localize in the brain, resulting in neurocysticercosis. The parasite life cycle is completed, resulting in human tapeworm infection, when humans ingest undercooked pork containing cysticerci. Cysts evaginate and attach to the small intestine by their scolex. Adulttapeworms develop, (up to 2 to 7 m in length and produce less than 1000 proglottids, each with approximately 50,000 eggs) and reside in thesmall intestine for years.

PathogenesisIngestion of T. solium eggs or proglottid rupture within the host intestine can cause larvae to migrate into host tissue and cause cysticercosis. This is the most frequent and severe disease caused by T. solium. In symptomatic cases, a wide spectrum of symptoms may be expressed including headaches, dizziness and occasional seizures. In more severe cases, dementia or hypertension due to perturbation of the normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid can occur. The severity of cysticercosis depends on location, size and number of parasite larvae in tissues, as well as the host immune response. Other symptoms include sensory deficits, involuntary movements and brain system dysfunction. In children ocular location of cysts is more common than cystation in other locations of the body. If a person is heavily infected with T. solium, it can lead to neurocysticercosis which can lead to epilepsy, seizures, lesions in the brain, blindness and tumor like growths. This kind of patient will also show the low level of eosinophils when they run the blood test. Diagnosis

Taenia solium adult

Diagnosis requires biopsy of the infected tissue and examination of feces. T. solium eggs and proglottids found in feces diagnoses taeniasis and notcysticercosis. Cysticercosis is diagnosed primarily on confirming the presence of hooks on the scolex of T. solium. Radiological test such as X-ray, CT scanswhich demonstrate "ring-enhancing brain lesions", and MRIs can also be used to detect diseases. X-rays are used to identify calcified larvae in the subcutaneous and muscle tissues and CT scans and MRIs are used to find lesions in the brain.

TreatmentPZQ (praziquantel) is the drug of choice for the treatment of T. solium infection. Some consider Niclosamide to be the drug of choice for all types ofTapeworms.[2] For cysticercosis, one can be treated with albendazole combining with steroid to reduce the inflammation. Surgical intervention may be necessary to treat CNS lesions. Albendazole appears to be more effective and a safe drug for Neurocysticercosis, infection of the brain with T. soliumlarvae.[3][4]

Answer 2

The life cycle of Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm, involves humans acting as definitive hosts and pigs as intermediate hosts. Humans get infected by consuming undercooked pork infected with cysticerci, which develop into adult tapeworms in the intestine. Eggs are then shed in feces and ingested by pigs, completing the cycle.