Question

Tapeworm infection results in,
(a) Indigestion
(b) Abdominal pain
(c) Anorexia
(d) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The main cause of tapeworm infection in people is eating undercooked meat from infected animals. Also, water contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae can cause tapeworm infection. They can migrate outside your intestines if somehow we ingest certain tapeworm eggs and then form larval cysts in body tissues and organs (invasive infection).

Complete answer:
Tapeworms can be found in the intestines of some animals, they are flat and segmented worms. The infection caused by tapeworm can easily be treated. They usually cause few symptoms in humans, but they can sometimes cause serious, life-threatening problems. In the life-cycle of a tapeworm, they have three-stages: an egg, an immature stage called a larva and an adult stage at which the worm can produce more eggs. Because larvae can get into the muscles of their hosts, the infection can occur when you eat raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal. Pork tapeworms can be contracted from foods prepared by an infected person as tapeworm eggs are passed with bowel movements. A person who doesn't wash hands well after wiping and then prepares food can contaminate the food after which they will enter our body through food and water. Generally, we observed that tapeworms cause the following symptoms such as nausea, weakness, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hunger or loss of appetite, fatigue, weight loss, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies.

So, the correct answer is, ‘all of the above’.

Note: Six types of tapeworms can be found which are the cause of infection in people. They can be identified by the animals from which they come from. For example, Taenia saginata comes from beef, Taenia solium from pork, and Diphyllobothrium latum from fish. It is observed in infected people that the pork tapeworm larvae move out of the intestine. The tapeworms can migrate to other parts of the body and cause damage to the liver, eyes, heart, and brain. If not treated immediately these infections can be life-threatening. The most common symptom of cysticercosis are seizures, the infection caused by the larvae of the pork tapeworm.