Taenia solium, Pork Tapeworm

Systemic position
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Cestoda
Super class: Eucestoda
Order: taenoidea
Family: Taenidae
Genus: Taenia
Species: solium

Habit and habitat:

Cosmopolitan, digenetic parasite(primary host: man residing in intestinal mucosa and secondary host is
dog/sheep/pig/goat/ cattle

Morphology
Shape, size and coloration:

 Cream, yellow, grey

 1 to 5m long
 Dorsoventrally flattened, narrow anteriorly posteriorly broad

Segmentation:

 Proglottids/strobili(850 to 1000)
 Pseudosegmentation
 3 parts:
a. head/scolex
b. unsegmented neck
c. segmented strobili
a. scolex:
anteriormsot knob like structure, biradially symmetrical, 0.6 to 1mm wide, roughly
quadrangular, anteriorly two rows of curved and chitinous hooks(rostellum, 22 and 32
respectively)arranged in circles around its base
 hooks: fixed base, blunt projection/handle directed towards apex, blade: conical,
outwardly directed
 suckers: 4, devoid of hooks, organ of attachment or hold fast organ, lies buried in the
host’s intestinal mucosa , has no role in food absorption or ingestion
b. neck:
 short, well defined, narrow, unsegmented, dorsoventrally falttened,
 building zone, growth zone, area of proliferation, area of segmentation
 area where new proglottids are formed and pushed backward
c. strobili/ Proglottids:
 main body part,
 total number: 800 to 1000 arranged in chain like pattern, dorsoventrally flattened,
 becausr of the continuous production of proglottids from the neck region, immature
ones are in the anterior region and mature towards the posterior region
 each proglottid remain attach to one another bu means of longitudinal muscles,
excretory ducts and nerve cords
 3 types:
i. Immature proglottids: anterior, 200
ii. Mature proglottids: middle, 450
iii. Gravid proglottids: posterior, 150 to 350
i. Immature proglottids:
  Youngest, sexually immature, devoid of reproductive organs, short, broader
than long, rectangular
ii. Mature proglottids:
 Large, squarishm anterior 100-150 only bears male reproductive organs, while
posterior 250 bears fully developed both male and female reproductive organs
i.e hermaphrodite
 Presence of genital papillae, a tiny protuberance on one lateral side, at its tip is
genital pore
 These pores are placed in the successive proglottids alternately onright and left
side
 A mature proglottid is a complete reproductive unit containing both completely
developed male and female reproductive organs

iii. Ripe/gravid:
 Posterior one, longer than broad
 Male and female reproductive organs degenerated except highly branched uterus, full of
fertilized eggs
Apolysis:

Shedding small groups of gravid proglottids regularly out of the host body along with faecal matter so as
for continuing the life cycle

Life cycle and development of Taenia solium

Copulation and fertilization

 Digenetic, no free larval stages

 Fertilization may be self or cross: with the insertion of cirrus into vagina of the same or other
proglottid to release spermatozoa(sperms are stored in seminal receptacle till ova are released
by ovary)
 Fusion of sperm and ovum in fertilization duct(internal) resulting zygote formation

Capsule formation:

 Migration of zygote to ootype

 Get associated with yolk cell from vitelline gland
 Enclosed by a thin shell(chorionic membrance forming capsule) with the material produced by
yolk cell
 Passes into uterus lubricated by the secretion from Mehli’s gland
 Uterus develop branches with increase in the number of eggs

Onchosphere formation

a. Cleavage:
 Occurs when capsule is in uterus
 Holoblastic and unequal
 Zygote undergoes unequal division forming 1 larger megamere and 1 smaller embryonic cell

b. Morula:
 Megamere divides several times forming an outer envelop of morula by receiving yolk from yolk
cells and then gradually disappear. These large yolky megameres fuse to form outer embryonic
membrance which is nutritive, nourishes embryonic cells and later disappear
 while embryonic cell also undergoes multiple division forming larger mesomere and smaller
micromere
 Larger mesomerers forms inner envelop for morula resulting the formation of embryophore or
inner embryonic membrane(thick, hard and cuticulated)
 Smaller mesomeres forms rounded mass called morula which forms a thin basement membrane
beneath embryophore
c. Hexacanth and Onchosphere
 Morula develops 3 pairs of hooks at its posterior end(secreted by oncoblasts)
 Possesses a pair of large penetration gland
 Surrounded by two hexacanth membrane followed by basement membrane and embryophore
 Hexacanth with all surrounding membrane is called onchosphere
 By the time onchosphere are formed, proglottids became gravid and increase in size
 Uterus are with 7 -13 lateral branches enclosing 30000 to 40000 onchospheres while other
reproductive organs disappear

d. Infection to secondary host(pig)

 Gravid proglottids are shed out along with the faecal matter in a group of 4 or 5(process:
Apolysis)
 Egg become free on ground with the degeneration of proglottids
 While feeding on the faecal matters infected with the eggs, the migration of these eggs occur
into the bodyof secondary host(stomach)

e. Migration within the body of secondary host

 Onchosphere loses its embryophore, basement membrane and hexacanth membrance due
to the action of gastric juice
 Hexacanth is released out then migrate into intestinal epithelium
 Gradually migration occurs from submucosal blood or lymph vessels( with the help of hools
and penetration gland, hooks gradually disappear) taking the path of hepatic portal vein , its
movement occurs towards liver, heart, arterial blood circulation, voluntary muscles(tongue,
shoulder, neck, thigh, heart etc)
 Time taken from ingestion upto the migration into different body parts is 10 minutes

f. Cysticerus or bladderworm formation

 Hexacanth, devoid of hooks absorbs nutrition from host’s tissues, grows in size attaining
diameter of about 18mm
 A central cavity appears and grows in size filled with fuid/blood plasma: Bladder/Vesicle
 Inner thin wall: germinal layer
 Outer thick cuticle
 Invagination occurs(opposite to the site of hooks
 Develops into inverted scolex withhooks, suckers and rostellum: Bladder worm or
cysticercosis
 Develops into adult tapeworm only when ingested by man
 If continues to remain in pig body leads an inactive life, remain viable for several years after
which it dies and become calcified
g. Infection to primary host(man)
 With the ingestion of measly pork or improperly cooked pork meat, human get the
infection
  Move to small intestine where cysticercosis become active
 Proscolex evaginates, anchors to the inrestinal wall, neck begins to proliferate
proglottids
 Bladder disappears
 Finally develop into adult
 Time taken from infection till maturity is 10 to 12 weeks

Pathogenicity

 Both adult and cysts are pathogenic

 Adult are less pathogenic causing mild irritation or inflammation of intestinal mucosa by their
armed scolex.
 Cysts are more pathogenic causing a disease called cysticercosis, a serious diseases in skin,
skeletal muscle, eyes and central nervous system. Cysts can remain viable for few years
 Cysticercosis is usually asymptomatic unless larvae invade the central nervous system resulting
neurocysticercosis, which can cause seizures and various neurological problems
 Calcification of dead cysts is completed within 5 years which may results pain and abnormal
functioning of adjacent organs.

Clinical manifestations
 i. Intestinal taeniasis : adult worm
ii. Cysticercosis : cyst of Taenia solium
1. Intestinal taeniasis
Asymptomatic in most of the cases
Symptomatic cases: specific and mild, characterized by
Nausea, abdominal discomfort, hunger pain, weight loss, chronic indigestion, vomiting

2. Cysticercosis:
 Dangerous systemic diseases with variable clinical manifestations depending on the
sites of infection
 Most often found in subcutaneous and inter muscular tissues, followed by eye and brain
a. Subcutaneous and intermuscular cysticercosis: mostly asymptomatic, is associated with
neurocysticercosis, subcutaneous nodules(asymptomatic)
b. Ocular cysticercosis: 20% cases, cysts found in vitreous humour, subretinal space, and
conjunctiva resulting nodules characterized by confusion with tumours and finally blindness
c. Neurocysticercosis: most serious, 60-90% cases, 2types: Parenchymal( brain parenchyma)and
extraparenchymal(cysts in CSF of the ventricles, cisterns and subarachnoid spaces or in the
spinal cord, symptomized by convulsions, intracranial hypertensions, psychiatric disturbances

Treatments:
 intestinal taeniasis:
 Albendazole
 Praziquantel
 Niclosamide
Ocular and neurocysticercosis: surgery

Prevention and control

 Do not eat raw or insufficiently cooked pork meat

 Improve sanitation and personal hygiene
 Treatment of infected person
 Cysticercosis can be prevented by avoiding raw vegetables grown in field fertilized with human
faeces contaminated with eggs of Taenia solium