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Infection
with the beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata,
may produce mild GI upset or passage of a motile segment in the
stool. It is treated with praziquantel.
Cattle are intermediate hosts for T. saginata. Humans are infected by eating cysticerci in raw or undercooked beef. The larvae mature in about 2 mo to adult worms (usually only 1 to 2 are present) that can live for several years.
Infection occurs worldwide but especially in cattle-raising regions of the tropics and subtropics in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and South America. Infection is uncommon in US cattle and is monitored by federal inspection.
Passage of a motile segment often brings an otherwise asymptomatic patient to medical attention. Other patients may have mild digestive symptoms. The stool should be examined for proglottids and eggs; eggs may also be present on anal swabs. The ova of T. saginata are indistinguishable from those of T.
solium (pork tapeworm), as are the clinical features and management of intestinal infections.
Treatment is with a single oral dose of praziquantel , 5 or 10 mg/kg. Alternatively, a single 2-g dose of niclosamide is given as 4 tablets (500 mg each) that are chewed one at a time and swallowed with a small amount of water (40 to 50 mg/kg once for children). Both drugs have cure rates of about 90%. Treatment can be considered successful when no proglottids are passed for 4 mo.
Last full review/revision November 2005
Content last modified November 2005
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