[mmarsha]

Hello goldengrain,I am interested in your post and was wondering if you still have the url's for the research or papers you got your info at? I have just been diagnosed with this and have read on Medline or med quest that some of human worm parasites can lay 1000.00's of eggs and guess what they look like blk and wht. triangle spec's... They can also cause the scabies TYPE ITCHING AND CRAWLING SENSATIONS, LESIONS, BACTERIA, FUNGAL INFECTIONS ect... Every symptom I have had. And as I have had many lesions on ear I am worried about them being in brain too. Here is one paper on them and I apologize for the length but people need to know this stuff. I wonder now if this hasn't been what it was all along With fungal infection to cover???? I appreciate any help you can give on those url's
mm
Do tapeworms affect human health?
Tapeworms are flat, segmented worms belonging to the class Cestoda. The life cycle of this type of parasite involves two hosts. The definitive host carries the adult form of the worm in their intestines. This adult holds itself in place, within the intestines of its host by suckers and/or hooks present on its head or scolex. An intermediate host carries the larval form, which lodges in various tissues of the body including muscle and brain. Secondary hosts are infected with the larval form by accident but do not pass on the larval form to the definitive host and are therefore a dead end for the parasite's life cycle. The definitive host normally acquires the infection by ingestion of meat from an infected intermediate host.

The smallest of the tapeworms using man as its definitive host is the dwarf tapeworm Hymenolepis species. Two species of Hymenolepis infect man H. nana and H. diminuta. These both use beetles as their intermediate host and man becomes infected by ingesting food or water contaminated by infected beetles. Rats also act as definitive hosts to H. species and beetles become infected by ingesting rat feces. H. nana is unusual in that, in addition to using beetles as an intermediate host, it can complete its life cycle within man without using an intermediate host.

Many cases of H. species infection are asymptomatic. A patient who develops symptoms may experience loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, weakness and abdominal pain.

Taenia saginata or the beef tapeworm uses cattle as intermediate hosts. Man becomes infected with T. saginata by eating raw or undercooked beef from an infected animal. Adult T. saginata worms grow to between 12 and 25 feet in length. As with the dwarf tapeworm asymptomatic infections with T. saginata are common. Symptomatic cases of beef tapeworm infection show a similar picture to Hymenolepis infections. In addition, the patient sometimes shows evidence of malnutrition and malabsorption.

The other Taenia species tapeworm that infects man is T. solium or the pork tapeworm. Spread by the ingesting of undercooked infected pork the adult worm grows from three to six feet in length. Symptoms of T. solium infection are similar to those of T. saginata. Asymptomatic cases are also common with T. solium.

In addition to infecting humans with the adult worm T. solium larvae also infect man. Infection with the larval form of T. solium occurs if a human ingests the eggs from a source contaminated by human feces. The larval form burrows