Table of Contents
What is the cysticercosis?
Cysticercosis is a parasitic tissue infection caused by larval cysts of the tapeworm Taenia solium. These larval cysts infect brain, muscle, or other tissue, and are a major cause of adult onset seizures in most low-income countries.
How do you contract cysticercosis?
People get cysticercosis when they swallow T. solium eggs that are passed in the feces of a human with a tapeworm. Tapeworm eggs are spread through food, water, or surfaces contaminated with feces. Humans swallow the eggs when they eat contaminated food or put contaminated fingers in their mouth.
What happens when man gets infected with the eggs of T. solium?
Ingested T. solium eggs develop to larvae (called cysticerci) in various organs of the human body. When they enter the central nervous system, they can cause neurological symptoms (neurocysticercosis), including epileptic seizures.
Who discovered cysticercosis?
1. Introduction
| Date | Event–discovery–description |
|---|---|
| 1558 | First reported case of human neurocysticercosis. |
| 1697 | Recognition of cysticerci as parasites. |
| 1792 | Link between taeniasis and cysticercosis in the same patient. |
| 1850–1900 | Description of the life cycle of Taenia solium. |
What relationship exists between a tapeworm and human?
A parasitic relationship is one in which one organism, the parasite, lives off of another organism, the host, harming it and possibly causing death. The parasite lives on or in the body of the host. A few examples of parasites are tapeworms, fleas, and barnacles.
What is the difference between cysticercosis and taeniasis?
What is the difference between cysticercosis and taeniasis? Remember, taeniasis is the infection of a human with the adult form of the beef or pork tapeworm. Cysticercosis is the infection of a human with the larval stage of the pork tapeworm, T. solium, only.
What do you mean by measly pork and cysticercosis?
Pigs flesh containing cysticercus (larval form of pork tapeworm, Taenia solium) is called measly pork. How do you know if a pig is infected? Pigs usually do not show signs of infection. Pigs acquire infection through consumption of human faeces, or through feed and drinking water contaminated with ova.
What type of relationship is described between a tapeworm and a cat?
Symbiotic Relationships
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Tapeworms live in the intestines of cats, where they absorb nutrients from the food the cats eat. | parasitism |
| Relationship in which one organism benefits, and the other is unaffected. | commensalism |
| Relationship in which both organisms benefit. | mutualism |
What type of relationship exist between a tapeworm and an infected mammal?
Parasitism occurs when two organisms interact, but while one benefits, the other experiences harm. Parasites harm their hosts, as with the tapeworm attaching itself to the intestine of a cow; the tapeworm absorbs the nutrients from the cow’s diet, preventing them from being absorbed by the cow.
What is bovine cysticercosis?
Bovine cysticercosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease affecting people and cattle, caused by the tapeworm Taenia saginata. Humans are the definitive (mandatory) host for the tapeworm, and cattle are the most common intermediate host. Cattle become infected when they ingest eggs that were shed in human feces.
What relationship exists between a tapeworm and a human?
What causes bovine tapeworm?
Tapeworm infection is caused by eating the raw or undercooked meat of infected animals. Cattle usually carry Taenia saginata (T saginata). Pigs carry Taenia solium (T solium). In the human intestine, the young form of the tapeworm from the infected meat (larva) develops into the adult tapeworm.
What type of relationship is tapeworm and mammal?
In some symbiotic relationships, one of the organisms benefits but the other is harmed. That is called parasitism. An example of this is a tapeworm in a human. The tapeworm gains nourishment, while the human loses nutrients.
What is a ripe proglottid?
After intense reproductive activity, the mature proglottid loses all its genital organs except the highly branched uterus which is filled with fertilized eggs. The segments which have both the female and male reproductive systems are called as gravid proglottids or ripe proglottids.
What is cysticercosis?
Cysticercosis is a parasitic tissue infection caused by larval cysts of the tapeworm Taenia solium. These larval cysts infect brain, muscle, or other tissue, and are a major cause of adult onset seizures in most low-income countries. A person gets cysticercosis by swallowing eggs found in the feces of a person who has an intestinal tapeworm.
What is cysticercosis in tapeworms?
Cysticercosis is the disease associated with the development of the larval form (cysticercus) of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, within an intermediate host. Swine are the usual intermediate host for T. solium but humans, the usual definitive host, can serve as accidental intermediate hosts following ingestion of infectious eggs.
What are the extraparenchymal forms of cysticercosis?
Extraparenchymal forms include cyst development in the fluid filled regions of the brain (intraventricular cysticercosis), in the space surrounding the brain (subarachnoid cysticercosis), in or around the spinal cord (spinal cysticercosis), and in the eye (ophthalmic cysticercosis).
What is the pathophysiology of racemose cysticercosis?
Racemose cysticercosis is characterized by accumulation of cysts at the base of the brain potentially resulting in mental deterioration, coma and life-threatening complications. Cysts affecting the spinal cord are rare, but may result in meningitis or compression of the spinal cord.