cysticercosis
Last edited 01/2022 and last reviewed 02/2022
This the condition when there is infection with Taenia solium and human tissue is invaded by the larval form.
- natural life cycle of T solium is for a human
host infected with the adult intestinal worm to shed eggs (ova),
which can survive for several months before ingestion, or egg-filled
motile worm segments (gravid proglottids) into the environment
- are subsequently ingested by pigs through contamination
of their diet
- are subsequently ingested by pigs through contamination
of their diet
- ova hatch within the porcine gastrointestinal
tract to become oncospheres, invade the mucosa to gain access
to the bloodstream, migrate to various tissues and encyst to
become cysticerci
- when a human ingests encysted pork, the
cysticerci attach to the intestinal mucosa and mature into adult
tapeworms, completing the life cycle
- human neurocysticercosis is
an aberration of this life cycle and occurs when a human (rather
than a pig) ingests the ova of T solium
- cysticerci (cysts) form within various human tissues (cysticercosis), much the same as within the porcine host