Bull tapeworm is perhaps the largest large parasite that can live in the human body. In length, this worm may well reach six meters or even exceed this line. Its head has a round shape, its diameter can be up to two millimeters. The entire body of the parasite is covered with small and frequent suction cups. The zone of its growth is a thin neck, which passes through the whole body, divided into many segments.
Bull tapeworm, the symptoms and treatment of which will be discussed in this article, can live for more than twenty years. It is also worth saying that it is not so difficult to pick it up.
Bull Chain Development Cycle
It parasitizes in the small intestine. Its segments, as a rule, leave the body along with feces. The eggs come out in exactly the same way. Once in the environment, the joints infect it and make it extremely dangerous. Often parasite larvae can be found on grass pastures where cattle graze.
Once in animals, larvae (cysticerci or Finns) can settle in their muscles. In deer of the Far North, they can be found even in the brain.
Cysticerci can be up to fifty millimeters, they are always white in color, and they have a clear liquid inside. In the body of livestock, they can live up to two years.
Infection of a person occurs when he eats the meat of an animal carrier of infection. Only raw or semi-raw meat is dangerous, since larvae are not preserved in well-cooked or fried meat.
The cysticerci of the bovine tapeworm, once in the intestines of a person, are attached to its walls, and three months later an adult sexually mature worm appears from them. Further development of the bull tapeworm, as well as its growth, occurs very, very quickly.
Bull tapeworm: symptoms
This parasite can lead to the appearance of a disease in humans such as teniarinhoz.
Bull tapeworm, the symptoms of which we are considering, can live inside a person for a long time and not give itself away. True, here are his segments can be found in the feces. Surprisingly, in some cases, they quite independently get out of the anus.
In general, the symptoms include a complete or partial loss of appetite, all kinds of intestinal disorders, nausea, and vomiting. General weakness of the body. Of course, all this can be accompanied by sharp abdominal pains. All these symptoms do not appear immediately, but gradually.
Bull tapeworm deprives a person of strength, and he begins to gradually languish, his complexion changes, bones begin to peep through the skin. Patients suffer from insomnia, and they can also suffer from nightmares.
A bovine tapeworm is diagnosed using stool analysis. In some cases, it is confused with pork tapeworm.
Treatment is often carried out in a hospital setting. This is primarily due to the fact that the drugs that patients should take are very toxic.
What can be the complications
Note that complications can be observed only in rare cases. Problems begin when the segments of the parasite enter the vagina, celiac process, into the abdominal cavity or elsewhere. Complications include obstructive bowel obstruction.
Prevention
Bull tapeworm, the symptoms of which we examined, in some cases, the first time may not be completely removed. For this reason, people who have undergone treatment will have to take regular tests for another six months.
Today, agriculture in our country is much better developed than it was before. This also lies in the fact that animal feed undergoes special processing, in which the larvae of all kinds of parasites die.
People are advised to eat only properly cooked meat, avoid public restrooms and wash their hands as often and thoroughly as possible.