The beef tapeworm (Taenia saginata) is an intestinal parasite that can sometimes reach a length of 13–33 feet (4–10 meters) ( 75Trusted Source ). It's rare in ...HealthlineSubscribeTaeniasisMedicallyreviewedbyJillSeladi-Schulman,Ph.D.—WrittenbyDarlaBurke—UpdatedonMay29,2018SymptomsCausesRiskfactorsDiagnosisTreatmentsOutlookComplicationsPreventionWhatistaeniasis?Taeniasisisaninfectioncausedbythetapeworm,atypeofparasite.Parasitesaresmallorganismsthatattachthemselvestootherlivingthingsinordertosurvive.Thelivingthingstheparasitesattachtoarecalledhosts.Parasitescanbefoundincontaminatedfoodandwater.Ifyouconsumecontaminatedfoodordrinks,youmaycontractaparasitethatcanliveandsometimesgrowandreproduceinsideyourbody.Taeniasisisanintestinaltapeworminfectioncausedbyeatingcontaminatedbeeforpork.It’salsoknownbythefollowingnames:Taeniasaginata(beeftapeworm)Taeniasolium(porktapeworm)Whatarethesymptomsoftaeniasis?Mostpeoplewhohavetaeniasisdon’thaveanysymptoms.Ifsignsandsymptomsarepresent,theymayinclude:painunexplainedweightlossblockageoftheintestinedigestiveproblemsSomepeoplewithtaeniasismayalsoexperienceirritationintheperianalarea,whichistheareaaroundtheanus.Wormsegmentsoreggsbeingexpelledinthestoolcausethisirritation.Peopleoftenbecomeawarethattheyhaveatapewormwhentheyseewormsegmentsoreggsintheirstool.Infectionscantakebetween8and14weekstodevelop.Whatcausestaeniasis?Youcandeveloptaeniasisbyeatingraworundercookedbeeforpork.Contaminatedfoodcancontaintapewormeggsorlarvaethatgrowinyourintestineswheneaten.Fullycookingbeeforporkwilldestroythelarvaesothattheycan’tliveinyourbody.Thetapewormcangrowupto12feetinlength.Itcanliveintheintestinesforyearswithoutbeingdiscovered.Tapewormshavesegmentsalongtheirbodies.Eachofthesesegmentscanproduceeggs.Asthetapewormmatures,theseeggswillbepassedoutofthebodyinthestool.Poorhygienecanalsocausethespreadoftaeniasis.Oncetapewormlarvaeareinhumanstool,theycanbespreadthroughcontactwiththestool.Youshouldwashyourhandsproperlytohelppreventthespreadoftheinfection.Whata