30 Beef Tapeworm - Taenia saginata

Human eats beef that’s undercooked and full of cysts (takes months to form). A cyst contains a head of a tapeworm.

Worm passes eggs out after maturing in gut.

Eggs go into cows. Mature into cysts

30.1 Requirements

Foraging cattle, poor sanitation, poor inspection

30.2 Clinical Features

  • Usually asymptomatic
  • Beef tapeworm are NOT A WAY to cause weight loss!

30.3 Diagnosis

  • History
  • Passed any worms/proglottids
  • Faecal Inspection (Eggs are indistinguishable from pig/cows)
  • Serology (not really really done)
  • Endoscopy

30.4 Treat

  • Praziquantel
  • Enhance Public Health