Which parasite causes cysticercosis and what is its primary source?

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Multiple Choice

Which parasite causes cysticercosis and what is its primary source?

Cysticercosis is linked to Taenia solium, and the key idea is following how humans acquire infection. Humans become infected with cysticerci not by eating pork containing cysticerci, but by ingesting Taenia solium eggs. Those eggs are shed in the feces of a person who carries the adult tapeworm, and when ingested, the eggs hatch and form tissue cysts (cysticerci) in sites like the brain, eyes, or muscles. Pork is relevant to taeniasis—getting an intestinal tapeworm after eating undercooked pork containing cysticerci—but it’s the eggs from a tapeworm carrier that lead to cysticercosis. Taenia saginata (the beef tapeworm) does not cause cysticercosis, and beef is the source for its own taeniasis, not cysticercosis.

Cysticercosis is linked to Taenia solium, and the key idea is following how humans acquire infection. Humans become infected with cysticerci not by eating pork containing cysticerci, but by ingesting Taenia solium eggs. Those eggs are shed in the feces of a person who carries the adult tapeworm, and when ingested, the eggs hatch and form tissue cysts (cysticerci) in sites like the brain, eyes, or muscles. Pork is relevant to taeniasis—getting an intestinal tapeworm after eating undercooked pork containing cysticerci—but it’s the eggs from a tapeworm carrier that lead to cysticercosis. Taenia saginata (the beef tapeworm) does not cause cysticercosis, and beef is the source for its own taeniasis, not cysticercosis.

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