taeniasolium life cycle- fob-animal biology- btechbiotechnology- 1st year

Taenia solium is the Human Tapeworm that comes from pork. The pig becomes infected from ingesting the eggs and once inside the intestine, the eggs release the oncosphere (first-stage larvae), making them an intermediate host, the oncosphere then separates and invades the intestinal wall migrating to the striated muscles, where it develops into a cyst-like structure, a cysticercus. The cysticercus can survive for several years in the tissue of the pig. Primates, sheep, Dogs, and cats can also be intermediate hosts. Humans become infected by ingesting raw or undercooked infected meat, making them the definitive host.
Taeniasis develops when the adult tapeworm infests the human intestine. The worm can grow to be 3-6 feet (0.9-1.8 m) long there. It usually causes no symptoms but the host becomes a continuous source of taenia eggs in the feces which may contaminate food.


STEP 1. Infected humans (definitive host) excrete the eggs or gravid proglottids in their feces, passing the parasite from the gastrointestinal tract onto nearby vegetation. In egg or gravid proglottid form, T. solium is able to remain viable anywhere from days to months. T. solium can be diagnosed at this point in the life cycle.

Note: Autoinfection can also occur at this point in the life-cycle via fecal-oral contamination. In this case, eggs or gravid proglottids re-enter the body through the mouth and often travel to the central nervous system (CNS), the muscles or the eye, where they develop into cysticerci. The presence of cysticerci in these locations leads to the pathogenesis of cysticercosis (neurocysticercosis in the CNS). [4,5]

STEP 2. Pigs (intermediate host) acquire infection by eating and digesting the eggs or gravid proglottids along with the parasitized vegetation.

STEP 3. The eggs or gravid proglottids migrate to the pig's intestine and as oncospheres, break through the intestinal wall. Then, via the circulatory system, they embed themselves in the muscles of the pig and develop into cysticerci (the infective form of T. solium). Cysticerci have the ability to persist in the muscle for many years.

STEP 4. Humans acquire the infection by eating the undercooked or raw flesh of an infected animal.

STEP 5,6. Cystercerci migrate to the small intestine of the human host and develop into their adult tapeworm form normally within two months. By attaching to the intestinal wall with their scolices (hooked structures), these adult tapeworms may persist for long periods of time, even years.


Symptoms

The presence of T. solium worms in the human intestines usually does not cause major problems. Diarrhea, constipation,, indigestion, and other mild stomach symptoms are common. Proglottids may also also crawl out of the anus and cause some discomfort or embarrassment.
diagnosis
Diagnosis of cysticercosis depend primarily on confirming the presence hooks of the scolex of T. solium under the microscope. Calcified larvae in the subcutaneous and muscle tissues can be identified by an X-ray examination. CT scans and MRI can detect lesions in the brain.