Tapeworm in humans: what are the signs of infection, can it be in fish and how to treat

Parasitic infection of a person can lead to serious consequences and disruptions in the functioning of internal systems. The tapeworm, which lives in the intestines, poisons the body from the inside.

Late detection of the parasite leads to a gradual deterioration in health. The worm poisons a person with the products of its vital activity, actively multiplying inside.

What to do in such a situation? To get started, we recommend reading this article. This article describes in detail methods of controlling parasites. We also recommend that you consult a specialist. Read the article >>>

What is a tapeworm

You can learn what a tapeworm looks like from the photos that are freely available on the Internet. The parasite is a helminth from the group Pseudophyllidea. This worm can grow up to 25 cm in length and 2 cm in width. The tape shape of the tapeworm makes it easy to distinguish it from other helminths.

It looks like an uneven, intertwined white ribbon. Its structure is quite simple:

• head size 5 mm;
• a large number of segments in adults up to 4 thousand.

The helminth needs segments for reproduction. They produce eggs, which are subsequently released into the environment. The parasite is able to recover from just one segment into a full-fledged tapeworm.

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Which fish are susceptible to tapeworm infestation?

The tapeworm is capable of infecting 47 species of fish. Invasion often occurs in river fish, these are:

• crucian carp;
• silver bream;
• pike;
• bream;
• roach.

Typically, saltpeter fish is found in polluted water bodies. The first sign of the presence of helminths in water is an unpleasant odor. It appears due to the fact that the worm is tearing the fish apart. Its mass death causes water poisoning.

Infection of fish also occurs in ecologically clean regions. The parasite is often found in salmon, roach, herring, and pollock. It should be noted that whitefish, peled, and pike perch are not susceptible to tapeworm infection.

Causes of infection

The main pathogenic factor is direct contact with the infectious agent. Infection with tapeworm occurs when eating low-quality meat and offal in the diet, but systematic violation of personal hygiene rules should also not be ruled out. To avoid invasive infection, each person needs to carefully study the etiology of the pathological process. The triggering factors for tapeworm are:

• home living conditions (social and household factor);
• consumption of contaminated water, bites of infected insects (environmental factor);
• poor quality washing of raw vegetables and fruits, violation of the rules for heat treatment of meat and fish dishes.

What does tapeworm look like in fish?

It is not difficult to recognize infected fish; they appear on the surface and are inactive. Therefore, it is better to avoid catching weakened waterfowl, since eating contaminated meat is a dangerous decision for humans. His health is at risk.

When cutting up an infected fish, you can see how a white flat tapeworm has completely filled its intestines. Photos presented on the Internet will help you learn more about the appearance of the tapeworm.

Preventive actions

To prevent tapeworm infection, you must follow the following preventive measures:

• wash your hands after going outside, using the toilet, and before eating;
• Clean your home regularly;
• do not wear street clothes or shoes in the house;
• wash food before eating;
• fry meat and fish well;
• eat quality foods;
• Periodically worm your pets and take anthelmintic medications for prevention.

Compliance with hygiene standards is the basis of prevention

Maintaining good hygiene and taking care of your health will help prevent infection with tapeworms and other parasites.

Helminth development

Tapeworms in fish can reach a length of up to 25 cm and cause serious illness. The body consists of segments, which, after maturation, separate and are capable of independent existence. A special feature is that the worm is capable of producing male and female reproductive cells at the same time. They are attached to the walls of the internal organs using suction cups, which are located on the front of the body.

The broad tapeworm can lay up to several thousand eggs per day. The lifespan of each individual can reach 20 years.

The fish tapeworm goes through several stages in its development.

1. Fish become infected with larvae by eating cyclops, crustaceans, snails and other small inhabitants of water bodies.
2. Fish infected with larvae are caught and eaten by waterfowl.
3. Further development of the larvae occurs in the body of the birds, and they, along with feces, again enter the water.
4. Particles of feces are again swallowed by small inhabitants of the reservoir, on which freshwater fish feed, and are again infected with tapeworm. But at this stage, larvae form, which can become dangerous to humans.

Most often, fish with white meat, such as bream, roach, pike, and sop, are susceptible to tapeworm. As the tapeworm grows, all the internal organs of the fish are compressed. The swim bladder contracts, swimming function is impaired, so the fish floats to the surface and can remain belly up for a long time.

Appearance and structure of the tapeworm

The parasite belongs to the class of flatworms. It has a leaf-shaped body, suckers for attachment to the walls of human mucous membranes and internal organs. To maintain vital functions, it absorbs substances from the host’s intestines.

The tapeworm has three main parts:

1. Head - scolex.
2. Neck.
3. Segments - segments.

Using the head, the parasite attaches to the mucous membrane. The repair function is performed by the indivisible neck, so if only part of the worm is removed, it will quickly grow back, regenerating the damaged parts.

The genitals are located in the tail part, which helps the parasites move inside the host. The larvae of the parasite are very dangerous. They can affect not only the intestines, but also other internal organs. Cases of death due to severe illnesses caused by tapeworm infection have been recorded.

How does infection occur?

Only after passing certain stages of development can a helminth become a sexually mature individual. To do this, he must alternately get to two intermediate and one main owner.

The life cycle of a tapeworm consists of several stages.

1. Through the feces of tapeworm-infected mammals, the worm releases several million immature eggs into the environment every day. The eggs remain viable for 30 days. During this time, they either fall into the water, where their further development occurs, or die.
2. In a pond, free-swimming larvae (procercoids) are released from the eggs. They become prey for copepods, making them the first intermediate hosts of the worm.
3. Fish, having swallowed infected crustaceans, become a new intermediate host of the helminth. Parasitizing in the abdominal cavity, procercoids gradually pass into the next larval stage of plerocercoids.
4. The larvae complete development in the body of the main host. Its role is played by people or animals (bears, foxes, dogs and cats) consuming diseased fish. Once in the digestive tract, plerocercoids attach to the intestinal walls, where in a short time they grow into a sexually mature worm.

A fish tapeworm in the human intestine can retain the ability to reproduce for 20 years.

Note! A helminthic infestation can only be acquired by eating tapeworm fish. Larvae floating in water bodies do not pose a danger.

Cysticercosis

There are two ways cysticercosis occurs in humans:

1. 1 complication of taeniasis;
2. 2 independent disease.

As a complication of taeniasis, cysticercosis can develop when mature segments with tens of thousands of eggs enter the patient’s stomach during nausea and vomiting as a result of self-infection (so-called autoinvasion). Subsequently, oncospheres enter the duodenum, drill through its wall, enter the blood, spread throughout the body and settle in the skeletal muscles, heart, organs of vision, brain and spinal cord, skin and lungs. Invasion can be either single or multiple.

As an independent disease, cysticercosis occurs in a person when he accidentally ingests the eggs of an armed tapeworm when eating dirty vegetables growing when fertilizing the soil with poorly neutralized sewage, as well as when personal hygiene rules are not observed. In rare cases, infection of a healthy person with oncospheres occurs through the mouth of a patient with taeniasis.

Most often, Finns settle in the brain (60% of cases), where multiple cysticercosis is possible. Here the parasite can live from five to tens of years, after which it also dies and calcifies. Despite the death of the cysticercus, remaining in the brain, it is able to maintain a chronic inflammatory process due to mechanical compression of tissues.

Cysticercosis of the brain is characterized by various symptoms, which depend on the location of the process. There are lesions of the cortex, ventricles, base of the brain and mixed lesions. Cysticerci have a toxic effect and cause inflammation of the surrounding nerve tissue and membranes.

Figure 6 — Neurocysticercosis on MRI before treatment (A, B, C) and after it (D, E, F)

Damage to the cerebral cortex is manifested by mental disorders and increased intracranial pressure due to obstruction of the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid. Mental disorders are presented in the form of agitation, depression, hallucinations and delusions. Increased intracranial pressure causes transient headache, vomiting that does not bring relief, and dizziness. Patients often experience epileptic seizures.

Among all the ventricles of the brain, cysticerci most often affect the fourth ventricle, where they can quietly float in the cerebrospinal fluid. Damage to the ventricle is manifested by Bruns' symptom, characterized by the appearance of a sharp paroxysmal headache and vomiting.

The appearance of these symptoms is characterized by a change in head position, so patients are usually in a forced position, which allows them to reduce or avoid these manifestations. Respiratory and cardiac disturbances are also observed, and, rarely, disturbances of consciousness.

Damage to the base of the brain is manifested by pain in the back of the head or neck, decreased taste, hearing, and vestibular disorders. Sometimes sensory and motor disorders occur, less often mental disorders occur.

The mixed form of brain damage has a rather severe course. It manifests itself as epileptic seizures of varying severity and severe mental disorders.

Cysticercosis of the spinal cord usually develops when finn enters from the ventricles of the brain with the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The initial manifestations of the disease include pain in the extremities, girdle pain in the back and abdomen, at chest level. Over time, the symptoms worsen, paralysis, sensory disturbances, and urinary and fecal incontinence appear. Sometimes fibrillations (uncontrollable muscle twitching) appear.

Isolated skeletal muscle cysticercosis is usually asymptomatic. As a rule, it is discovered by chance.

When finn is located in the subcutaneous fat layer, the formation of spherical tumors is observed, which rise above the surface of the skin. When palpating such tumors, their cavity nature is felt. Most often, tumors appear on the inner surface of the shoulders, on the upper half of the chest and on the palms.

Cysticercosis of the eye can affect any organ structure with the occurrence of uveitis, conjunctivitis, retinitis, and retinal detachment. The formation of finna in the tissues of the eye entails a gradual deterioration of vision up to its complete loss and atrophy of the eyeball.

Damage to cardiac cysticerci is manifested by rhythm disturbances. This may be bradycardia (slow heartbeat) or tachycardia (rapid heartbeat). Patients usually do not present any other complaints. Heart failure occurs very rarely.

The presence of cysticerci in the lungs usually does not cause any symptoms. Rarely, patients develop an unreasonable cough with clear sputum, which can persist for a long time. Sometimes streaks of blood appear in the sputum. At times, habitual physical activity can cause mild shortness of breath, which goes away after a short rest. However, in most cases, patients do not pay attention to this and do not seek help.

With taeniasis, the prognosis is serious due to potential infection with cysticercosis . With cysticercosis of the skin and skeletal muscles, the prognosis is more favorable, however, the patient should be monitored for a long time. The prognosis for damage to other organs is questionable, and often unfavorable.

Why is tapeworm dangerous?

This parasite is dangerous in the later stages of the disease. There are several reasons for this:

• this worm is a hermaphrodite, so if at least 1 worm enters the body, this is enough for reproduction;
• The tapeworm lays about 1 million eggs per day, the lifespan of each individual can reach 20 years;
• the disease is difficult to detect, so the patient seeks help in a critical situation.

Important to remember! You should undergo medical examination periodically! This will help identify the disease in the early stages and easily get rid of the disease. The tapeworm in fish is dangerous to humans, not the product itself.

Prevention of infection

To prevent tapeworm from appearing in the body, it is necessary to observe the rules of personal hygiene, and all food products must be subject to mandatory heat treatment. This way you can avoid treatment and serious complications in the body. The tapeworm starts in places where there are no sanitary standards, so a person must live in cleanliness and be clean. Other preventive measures are detailed below:

1. Cooking food, especially meat and fish products, must be carried out at a temperature of at least 100 degrees.
2. If the family has pets, they must be systematically wormed for prevention purposes.
3. It is important to eliminate human interaction with rodents and harmful insects, which are potential carriers of pathogenic infection.
4. It is important to teach children to wash their hands every time they come in from outside, before eating, and after visiting the toilet.
5. Treatment of tapeworm in the body should begin in a timely manner, remembering its rapid reproduction in the walls of the small intestine.

Solitaire fish: signs, behavioral characteristics

The tapeworm in the abdominal cavity of an aquatic inhabitant quickly increases in size. It compresses the swim bladder and other organs, which leads to their atrophy. Tapeworm in fish causes metabolic disorders and endogenous intoxication. The altered swim bladder loses its hydrostatic function.

There are a number of signs that allow you to visually identify an infected individual:

• saltpeter fish rarely descends to a depth of more than 3 meters. Usually floats on the surface of the water (often on its side). From time to time he rolls over onto his back;
• the belly is hard and swollen. When pressed, a tapeworm segment may appear from it;
• When playing, it behaves passively and practically does not resist. Once caught, it quickly dies.

You can verify the presence of the parasite during the process of gutting the catch: flat white worms will be found in the abdominal cavity of the tapeworm fish. Helminth larvae are localized in the liver, intestines, and muscle layer near the fins. It is impossible to see them with the naked eye.

The peak of tapeworm infestation occurs in the summer months, but at other times of the year the likelihood of catching sick fish is quite high.

Features of tapeworm treatment in children

To ensure that tapeworms are eliminated from the child’s body, complex-action medications are chosen. They must destroy eggs, larvae and adult parasites. The following are used as antiparasitic drugs:

• Albendazole,
• Niclosamide,
• Praziquantel,
• Wormil,
• Fenasal,
• Nemozol.

To relieve signs of cestodosis, the following are additionally prescribed:

• enzyme preparations – Enzistal, Pancreatin, Festal, Pancitrate,
• enterosorbents – Enterosgel, Smecta, Polyphepan, Polysorb, Enterodes,
• vitamin and mineral complexes – Pikovit, Alphabet, Multi-Tabs, Bebitamin.

Is it possible to eat tapeworm fish?

Is helminth dangerous for humans? The prevailing opinion among fishermen that fish infected with tapeworm is not dangerous if the parasite is removed from it is only partly true. The worm in fish itself does not really pose a health threat. The problem is that tapeworm larvae, invisible to the naked eye, remain in the muscle tissue. Once they enter the human body, they begin to actively parasitize. Within 12 months, the plerocercoids reach the final stage of development, turning into an adult worm. Worm infestation can be asymptomatic. In some cases, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, disruption of the digestive system, and irritability are noted.

Tapeworm in fish is dangerous for humans due to diphyllobothriasis. The parasitic disease causes damage to the gastrointestinal tract and contributes to the development of megaloblastic anemia. There are known deaths due to intestinal obstruction.

Is it possible to eat saltpeter fish? Ideally, a caught sick individual should be thrown away, wrapped in a tight bag. You can bury it far from a body of water (the tapeworm larvae die in the ground). It cannot be released back into the water due to the danger of invasion of other inhabitants.

Smoked and dried fish

Infection through dried fish is possible. An adult tapeworm usually dies when dried, but the eggs can remain viable for a long time. Smoked fish can also be dangerous if the cooking technology is not followed. If the fish has not been subjected to sufficient heat treatment, the risk of infection is very high. Tapeworm can also be found in everyone's favorite herring.

You should only buy fish from trusted sellers. It needs to be thoroughly examined. If you suspect that the fish is infected, you should refuse to purchase.

Signs

During their life cycle, mature individuals release neurotoxins into the human blood, which provoke acute symptoms of intoxication in the body. The degree of damage depends on the state of immunity and the actual health of the patient; for example, with chronic pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, intestinal obstruction with a rapid decrease in body weight cannot be ruled out. Other unpleasant signs of tapeworm and helminths are presented below:

• feeling of mobility in the intestines, muscles;
• chronic diarrhea;
• nervous excitability, aggression;
• signs of impaired digestion;
• complete lack of appetite;
• sudden weight loss, symptoms of anorexia;
• unpleasant odor from the mouth;
• heart rhythm disturbances, signs of tachycardia;
• menstrual irregularities (for women);
• pale skin, appearance of dark circles under the eyes;
• hormonal imbalance;
• abdominal pain due to intestinal obstruction;
• presence of segments in feces.

If a child falls ill, a lag in physical and mental development is possible. Moreover, parents should notice a slowdown in growth and delayed sexual development, according to the patient’s age category. This is a sign that the tapeworm has been living in the human body for a long time, and gradually and imperceptibly affects not only the internal organs, but also the brain.

What to do if you feel bad about throwing away your catch?

If it is a pity to part with the catch, the tapeworm can be neutralized by high-quality processing of the fish. To protect yourself from the penetration of parasites, you must adhere to certain rules. First of all, you need to thoroughly gut the carcass. Pay special attention to the tapeworm itself: all segments must be removed.

After this, choose one of the methods of processing the fish, in which the larvae are guaranteed to die:

• freeze at -20C (the carcass is kept in the freezer for at least 24 hours, ideally 3 days);
• pickle. Take salt at the rate of 1220% of the total weight of the fish. The time for complete salting out is 612 days, depending on the density of muscle tissue;
• cut into small pieces, cook for at least 30 minutes from the moment of boiling or fry for 1520 minutes on each side;
• bake over an open fire;
• smoke hot.

Viable larvae, invisible to the eye, can end up on hands and kitchen utensils. Hands, knives, cutting boards must be thoroughly washed with laundry soap.

Saltpeter fish is significantly inferior in taste and nutritional value to healthy individuals.

Note! The most dangerous in terms of tapeworm infection are dishes made from raw and lightly salted fish (sushi, stroganina and others), including caviar. This also includes cold smoked and dried fish. With weak salting and no heat treatment, plerocercoid larvae do not die and retain the ability to parasitize in the intestines of humans or animals, passing into the adult stage.

The fish tapeworm infects mainly representatives of the carp family, which are traditionally caught. Crucian carp and bream are especially vulnerable. In salt water the parasite occurs on a smaller scale. The most commonly caught sea creature is tapeworm pollock.

On a note! A representative of the cod family usually arrives in stores in a deep-frozen state; after heat treatment, it can be eaten. A person can become infected with a helminth only in one case: by eating fish whose muscle tissue contains plerocercoids. Prolonged heat treatment of fish and compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards will reduce the risk to a minimum.

And in conclusion, one more piece of advice: do not buy dried bream or cold smoked pike from random sellers. Along with a gastronomic delicacy, there is a high risk of introducing a fair amount of viable tapeworm larvae and other worms into the stomach.

Most people are aware of the possible presence of worms in their body or in the body of animals. A parasitic worm, also known as a helminth, lives in every third person. But few people know that the fish they eat can also contain this parasite.

Risk factors for tapeworm infection

There are some situations that can significantly increase the risk of tapeworm infection.

The most common are:

• Eating without previous thorough hand hygiene. By putting food into your mouth with dirty hands, you increase the likelihood of ingesting tapeworm eggs.
• Consuming dirty fruits and vegetables. These products may be contaminated with worm eggs; if they are consumed without first thoroughly washing with plenty of water, the risk of ingesting worm larvae increases significantly.
• Consumption of raw or undercooked pork meat. Pigs are the intermediate host of tapeworm and their muscles may contain worm larvae. If you eat raw or undercooked meat (all parts of the meat should be exposed to a temperature of about 60°C for a sufficiently long time), you can introduce a tapeworm larva into the intestines. The worm will also die if the meat is frozen at -10°C for at least ten days.
• Living in a rural area where there is no proper disposal of livestock waste. Failure to properly dispose of animal feces leads to contamination of the surrounding soil and water with tapeworm eggs and larvae.
• Living in or visiting endemic regions. Of course, if the worm is widespread in the area where you are staying, then the likelihood of infection increases significantly. Southeast Asia, China and Latin America should be considered.
• Using pig manure as fertilizer for agriculture. If some pigs are infected with tapeworm, tapeworm eggs will be present throughout the manure.

Symptoms of human infection

In the first stages of tapeworm infection, a person may not feel any changes in his body. Tapeworm, unlike other helminths, has less effect on well-being, and therefore its presence in the body can go unnoticed for a long time. Mild symptoms of illness may be mistaken for another disease. Since the worm settles in the intestines, a person may experience problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

The main symptoms of tapeworm infection:

• loose stools or constipation that occurred suddenly and for no reason;
• increased salivation;
• dizziness;
• sudden weight loss;
• intestinal obstruction;
• irritability;
• a feeling that something is moving inside (it is not the parasite itself that is moving, but the muscles contracting under its influence);
• anemia;
• weakness and apathy;
• decreased appetite or, conversely, constant hunger;
• small red wounds appear on the tongue;
• gagging and nausea.

In some countries, tapeworm is specially introduced into the human body so that it helps quickly and effectively lose weight. Afterwards the parasite is removed. You should not do this intentionally, because helminth infection can lead to very serious health consequences.

Folk remedies

This is an auxiliary therapy, no less effective in practice, which accelerates the overall therapeutic effect. Approved by infectious disease doctors. Additionally, it is required to observe the rules of personal hygiene, control the daily diet, and take medications. Effective treatment of tapeworm with folk remedies involves the use of the following alternative medicine recipes:

1. In the morning, eat a glass of peeled pumpkin seeds, and half an hour later, wash down this folk medicine with warm milk, in which you have first boiled a few cloves of garlic.
2. 100 g of pumpkin seeds are first peeled and crushed into puree. After this, dilute the gruel with lingonberry juice and take it between adjacent meals, washing it down with a tablespoon of pharmaceutical castor oil.
3. Grind 10 heads of garlic into a pulp, then dilute with water and eat, washing down the concentrate with warm milk. After a couple of hours, take a laxative. The product is suitable in the absence of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

To finally remove tapeworm, a person needs to further review their daily diet. The emphasis should be on salty and peppery dishes, since these contribute to the rapid removal of joints along with feces. The menu should be selected individually, taking into account the state of the digestive organs and the degree of the pathological process.

Treatment methods

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As a rule, getting rid of the parasite is not very difficult. You can be treated with traditional methods, or play it safe and immediately contact a qualified specialist. Drug treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor, based on the patient’s condition and his tolerance to the active components of the drug. In rare and advanced cases, it is necessary to resort to surgical intervention.

In drug treatment, drugs that include mebendazole, albendazole or carbendacim are most often prescribed. Excellent representatives of this group are: vermox, biltricide, sanoxal, medamine and many others. Depending on the choice of drug, treatment can take place with a single tablet or a course of up to 3-4 days. In rare cases, worms do not respond to drugs, and scientists still do not know the reason for this. The solution would be to repeat the course after 3 weeks; as a rule, this helps.

Surgery is required in extremely rare cases. The reason for this is an advanced form of infection, brain damage, or inflammation of the appendix due to the development of tapeworm.

Also, surgical intervention may be prescribed if drug treatment is contraindicated, when the parasite has settled in vital organs.

Traditional methods most often include treatment with raw garlic, raw unpeeled pumpkin seeds or castor oil. This method is used more to relieve symptoms rather than to completely cure the parasite.

Diagnosis of infestation

At the slightest suspicion of a disease, a number of diagnostic procedures are prescribed:

If helminthiasis is confirmed, the doctor prescribes drug treatment in accordance with the age, weight and other individual characteristics of the patient. Usually the drugs are taken in short courses (up to three days) with breaks of several days. This way the worms die and come out gradually, do not decompose and poison the patient’s body less.

In cases where a ball of parasites is detected that has blocked the intestinal lumen, surgery is prescribed.

Symptoms of diseases

When wondering how you can find out about the existence of a parasite in the body, it is recommended to first study the symptoms of the disease. Signs of tapeworm will vary when infecting different parts of the human body.

Distribution of eggs throughout the body

If a contaminated product is ingested, the offspring may in some cases travel to other organs. In this case, the set of symptoms will be as follows:

• Cysts form in the habitats of the larvae, which contributes to the disruption of various body systems: epilepsy develops, convulsive muscle contractions occur, and fluid accumulates in the spinal cord.
• Allergies in various forms, most often urticaria, and if the condition worsens, anaphylactic shock.
• Development of bacterial infections in affected organs.
• The inflammatory process at the site of invasion is often accompanied by fever.

Parasites in the intestines

If the tapeworm lives in a person, the symptoms of the intestinal form of helminthiasis will be slightly different:

• Deterioration in the functioning of the digestive system: the infected person suffers from pain in the lower abdomen; stool is disturbed; Nausea appears.
• Anemia develops and weight loss is observed.
• General weakness.
• Changes in blood composition, the values ​​of some indicators (eosinophils) increase.