Beef tapeworm
The beef tapeworm, scientifically known as Taenia saginata, is a parasitic organism that resides in the intestines of humans. It is transmitted through the consumption of undercooked or raw beef containing cysts, which are often found in meat that appears red and bloody. These tapeworms can grow significantly, reaching lengths of 13 to 32 feet (4 to 10 meters) or even longer, featuring a long, flat, segmented body with a distinct head that is covered in hooks and suckers, allowing it to attach firmly to the intestinal wall of its host.
Beef tapeworms are prevalent in underdeveloped regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, but they also occur in the United States, especially among individuals who prefer rare meat. The life cycle of the beef tapeworm begins when its eggs are deposited in human waste, which contaminates cow pastures. Cows ingest these eggs, which then develop into cysts in their muscles. If humans consume undercooked beef containing these cysts, they can become infected.
The treatment for a beef tapeworm infection typically involves anti-parasitic medication, and while these parasitic organisms can live for two to three years in their host, they can sometimes survive for much longer. Awareness of proper cooking practices can help prevent infection.
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Beef tapeworm
Like other tapeworms, the beef tapeworm spends its adult life feeding on the fluids in the human intestine. It is called the beef tapeworm because it is transferred to its human host in the form of a cyst buried in a piece of beef which has not been thoroughly cooked. This meat is usually still very red and bloody. Beef tapeworms are common in the underdeveloped areas of Latin America, Africa, and areas of Asia.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Playhelminthes
Class: Cestoda
Order: Cyclophllidea
Family: Taeniidae
Genus: Taenia
Species: Saginata
Like other tapeworms, the beef tapeworm may grow to be between 13 and 32 feet (four and 10 meters) long. Some have been known to grow even larger. Its long, flat, segmented body is bilaterally symmetric and has a distinct head. Bilateral symmetry means that each side of its body is an exact mirror image of the other side. Like the beef tapeworm, humans are also bilaterally symmetrical. If a human were split in half from top to bottom, the two halves would be the same.
Each of the segments, or proglottids, of the beef tapeworm are square, flat, and paper-thin. These square segments look very different from the beef tapeworm's round head. The head, or scolex, is sometimes called the mother segment. This piece is covered with many hooks and suckers which the beef tapeworm uses to cling to its host. By digging the hooks and suckers into the intestinal lining of its host, the beef tapeworm secures a position in the digestive track of a human. Like other tapeworms, the beef tapeworm is without a mouth or an intestinal system. To gain nourishment, the beef tapeworm soaks in digestive fluids through the thin skin of its proglottids. In doing this, the beef tapeworm feeds itself and takes nourishment away from its human host. Like other tapeworms, the beef tapeworm is able to feed and grow in the digestive fluids of other animals without being digested by those fluids.
Although most parasites are found mostly throughout parts of Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia in developing countries with poor sanitation regulations, this is not true of the beef tapeworm. This tapeworm is also common in the United States. Whenever a person asks to have a piece of meat cooked "rare," that person is at risk of being infested by a beef tapeworm. It is a very painful and difficult process to rid the body of a beef tapeworm.
The beef tapeworm's life begins as an egg being deposited in human waste. That waste is distributed through sanitation methods and the egg eventually finds itself in a cow pasture. The egg is then eaten along with a mouthful of grass by an unsuspecting cow. The young larval form of the beef tapeworm hatches from the egg in the cow's intestine. It then pushes through the intestinal wall and makes its way into the blood vessels and muscles.
Once in the cow's muscles, the young transforms into a cyst, and waits. The cow is eventually slaughtered and butchered and the meat is sold to humans. Unless the meat is thoroughly cooked, the cyst form of the beef tapeworm is still alive when eaten by a human inside a steak, hamburger, or other beef product.
Once inside its new host, the human digestive system pushes the beef tapeworm into the intestine. There, the small cyst grows a head which digs its way into the intestinal wall. Proglottids begin to develop and soak up digestive fluids. Eventually this new beef tapeworm is as large as its parents and begins to release eggs of its own. Treatment for infection with a beef tapeworm consists of administering anti-parasitic medicine.
The beef tapeworm's life span within a host is generally between two and three years. However, the beef tapeworm can live much longer. The beef tapeworm is not a threatened species.
Bibliography
Bogitsh, Burton J., et al. Human Parasitology. Elsevier Science, 2018.
“Taeniasis/cysticercosis.” World Health Organization (WHO), 11 Jan. 2022, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/taeniasis-cysticercosis. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.