Taenia saginata, also known as Taeniarhynchus saginata or the Beef tapeworm, is a
parasite of both
cattle and
humans, but which can only reproduce in humans. T. saginata occurs where cattle is raised, human feces is improperly disposed of, meat inspection programs are poor, and where meat is eaten without proper cooking. The disease is relatively common in
Africa, some parts of eastern
Europe, the
Philippines,
Mexico, and
Latin America. Undercooked meat from small farms in the
United States may also be infected.
Proglottids full of
eggs are passed with human
fecal matter and then eaten by cattle. Oncosphere
larvae hatch in the small intestine of the
bovid and then travel through the
blood to
muscle tissue and form "
bladder worms," which are larval stages called cysticerci (singular cysticercus). Cysticerci are infectious to humans that eat them.
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Taenia saginata, the most common of the big tapeworms that parasitizes people, contracted from infected raw or rare beef. Can grow to be 12-25 feet (3.6-7.5 m) long in the human intestine. Also known as the African tapeworm.