Taeniasis is an intestinal infection caused by 3 species of tapeworm: Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm) and Taenia ...Home/Newsroom/Factsheets/Detail/Taeniasis/cysticercosisT.VanDijk©CreditsTaeniasis/cysticercosis17May2021KeyfactsThetermtaeniasisreferstointestinalinfectionwithtapeworms.Threeparasitespeciescausetaeniasisinhumans,Taeniasolium,TaeniasaginataandTaeniaasiatica.OnlyT.soliumcausesmajorhealthproblems.T.soliumtaeniasisisacquiredbyhumansthroughtheingestionoftheparasite'slarvalcysts(cysticerci)inundercookedandinfectedpork.Humantapewormcarriersexcretetapewormeggsintheirfaecesandcontaminatetheenvironmentwhentheydefecateinopenareas.HumanscanalsobecomeinfectedwithT.soliumeggsduetopoorhygiene(viathefecal-oralroute)oringestingcontaminatedfoodorwater.IngestedT.soliumeggsdeveloptolarvae(calledcysticerci)invariousorgansofthehumanbody.Whentheyenterthecentralnervoussystemtheycancauseneurologicalsymptoms(neurocysticercosis),includingepilepticseizures.T.soliumisthecauseof30%ofepilepsycasesinmanyendemicareaswherepeopleandroamingpigsliveincloseproximity.Inhighriskcommunitiesitcanbeassociatedwithasmanyas70%ofepilepsycases.Morethan80%oftheworld's50millionpeoplewhoareaffectedbyepilepsyliveinlowandlower-middleincomecountries.TransmissionandburdenTaeniasisisanintestinalinfectioncausedby3speciesoftapeworm: Taeniasolium (porktapeworm), Taeniasaginata(beeftapeworm)and Taeniaasiatica.Humanscanbecomeinfectedwith T.saginata or T.asiatica whentheyconsumeinfectedbeefmeatorpiglivertissue,respectively,whichhasnotbeenadequatelycooked,buttaeniasisdueto T.saginata or T.asiatica hasnomajorimpactonhumanhealth.Therefore,thisfactsheetreferstothetransmissionandhealthimpactsof T.soliumonly.Infectionwiththe T.solium tapewormoccurswhenapersoneatsraworundercooked,infectedpork.Infectionwiththe tapewormcausesfewclinicalsymptoms.Tapewormeggspassedinthefaeceswiththetapewormcarrierareinfectiveforpigs. T.solium eggsmayalsoinfecthumansiftheyareingestedbyaperson(viathefecal-oralro