Intestinal Perforation Due to Adult Tapeworm of Taenia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Raju Bhandari1,2 , Rajan Chamlagain3, Edward Sutanto4 ,
Hammad Adam1,2, Anil Dhungana2, Aishnath Azna Ali2,
Bimochan Piya2, Abdulla Ubaid2 and Andreas Neumayr5,6,7
Introduction
Taeniasis is an intestinal infection caused by adult tapeworms.
Three parasite species cause taeniasis in humans: Taenia solium
(pork tapeworm), Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm), and Taenia
asiatica (a species phylogenetically closely related to T. saginata).
1 The human definitive host gets infected with T. saginata
and T. solium by eating undercooked meat of the parasites’
respective intermediate host (T. saginata: cattle; T. solium: pigs)
harboring the infective larval stage of the parasite (cysticerci).2,3
The life cycle of T. asiatica differs from that of T. saginata in its
intermediate host (pigs vs cattle) as well as in the infected
organs (liver vs muscle).1
