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Cysticercosis
Etiology
Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm , causes 2 different infections in children. In its normal life cycle, children can acquire the tapeworm form by ingestion of undercooked pork containing the larval cysts (see Chapter 328 ). In the intestines, the cyst converts into the tapeworm form. Children are also susceptible to infection by the eggs shed by tapeworm carriers. After the eggs are ingested, the larvae are released from the eggs, invade through the intestines, and migrate through the bloodstream to the muscles (and other organs), where they form tissue cysts (0.2-2.0 cm fluid-filled bladders containing a single invaginated scolex ). Infection with the cystic form is termed cysticercosis , and involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) is termed neurocysticercosis. The tapeworm form only develops after ingestion of undercooked pork. Ingestion of pork is not necessary to develop cysticercosis, but individuals harboring an adult worm may infect themselves with the eggs by the fecal-oral route.
Epidemiology
The pork tapeworm is widely distributed wherever pigs are raised and have contact with human fecal material. Intense transmission occurs in Central and South America, southern and Southeast Asia, and much of sub-Saharan Africa. In these areas, approximately 30% of cases of seizures may be a result of cysticercosis. Most cases of cysticercosis in the United States are imported; however, local transmission has been documented.
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