The most common sign of a tapeworm infection is seeing a tapeworm in poop. Tapeworms like look like grains of rice and may be moving. Tapeworm infections are diagnosed using a stool sample to analyze the type of tapeworm. In some cases, imaging studies may be needed to determine the extent of infection.
Worldwide, tapeworm infection rates are difficult to measure. Tapeworms often cause no noticeable symptoms, and many countries lack the resources to diagnose everyone who has symptoms.
To diagnose a tapeworm infection, doctors will collect and examine a stool sample on 3 different days to check for tapeworm eggs or pieces of worm. They may also do a blood test. If a child could have cysticercosis, the doctor might recommend a CT (CAT) scan or MRI of the brain or other organs to look for cysts.
There may be several in a bowel movement, and then none seen for a week or two. IF SEEN ONLY ONCE, THEY OBVIOUSLY PROVE THAT THE PET HAS A TAPEWORM INFESTATION. The condition may go undetected for months or years, especially in pets that eliminate outside where the stools are not usually seen by the owner.
Left untreated, adult tapeworms can live in a host body for up to 30 years. Their length varies, but they can grow to be anywhere from 6 to 22 feet.
If meat or fish have larvae cysts and are undercooked or raw, the cysts can travel to the human intestine, where they can mature into adult tapeworms. An adult tapeworm can : live as long as 25 years.
A tapeworm in the intestines often causes mild symptoms. Moderate to severe symptoms may include stomach pain and diarrhea. Larval cysts can cause serious disease if they are in a person's brain, liver, lungs, heart or eyes.
Taeniasis can cause mild and non-specific symptoms, including abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea or constipation when the tapeworms become fully developed in the intestine.
Diagnosis of Taenia tapeworm infections is made by examination of stool samples; individuals should also be asked if they have passed tapeworm segments. Stool specimens should be collected on three different days and examined in the lab for Taenia eggs using a microscope.
But could a tapeworm really be lured out of a person with a lump of meat? Not really, according to Brian Louden, from Science Channel's MythBusters. “Luckily, this entire idea is from the imagination of a creative individual who took already scream-inducing diseases and created a terrifying chimera,” he told TheWrap.
Sometimes the tapeworms shed pieces of themselves which then come out in poop, and this poop may also contain some tapeworm eggs. If the poop is disposed of in soil or drinking water, it can infect other people and animals.
Although adult tapeworms in the intestine usually cause no symptoms, some people experience upper abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and other symptoms. Occasionally, people with a tapeworm can feel a piece of the worm move out through the anus or see part of the ribbon-like tapeworm in stool.
That's 18 percent of the US population.
Diagnosis of tapeworm infection
A health care provider tests for a tapeworm infection in the intestines using a test of a stool sample. A lab test may find pieces of tapeworms or eggs. You may give a sample on more than one day.
The best way to diagnose this infection is to do a tape test. The best time to do this is in the morning before bathing, because pinworms lay their eggs at night. Steps for the test are: Firmly press the sticky side of a 1-inch (2.5 centimeters) strip of cellophane tape over the anal area for a few seconds.
Tapeworms can cause digestive problems including abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, and upset stomach. The most visible sign of taeniasis is the active passing of proglottids (tapeworm segments) through the anus and in the feces.
The cure rate for tapeworm infestation is greater than 95% in patients who receive appropriate treatment. The prognosis for systemic cysts depends on the location of the cysts.
How common is taeniasis? Approximately 50 million persons are infected with both parasites worldwide; some 50,000 die of cysticercosis annually.
In the human intestine, the young form of the tapeworm from the infected meat (larva) develops into the adult tapeworm. A tapeworm can grow to longer than 12 feet (3.5 meters) and can live for years. Tapeworms have many segments.
Diarrhea. Nausea or vomiting. Gas or bloating. Dysentery (loose stools containing blood and mucus)
Once ingested, cysticerci attach to the small intestine and develop into adult tapeworms over the course of 2 months. The adult tapeworms produce proglottids that mature, detach, and migrate to the anus and are then passed in the feces.
Rope worms are long structures that sometimes occur in the intestines. They are likely a buildup of intestinal mucus and debris and may pass in a person's stool during an enema or other clearing procedure. Some researchers claim that rope worms are parasites, while others believe them to be intestinal debris.
The most common tapeworm infection in Australia is caused by dwarf tapeworm. There is also a risk in Australia of contracting a serious condition called hydatid disease from the eggs of a type of tapeworm called Echinococcus granulosus found in dog faeces (poo).
In rare cases, tapeworms can lead to serious complications, including blocking the intestine, or smaller ducts in the intestine (like the bile duct or pancreatic duct). If pork tapeworm larvae move out of the intestine, they can migrate to other parts of the body and cause damage to the liver, eyes, heart, and brain.