pork tapeworm infection

pork tapeworm infection

Etymology: L, porcus, pig, hog (male); AS, taeppe, tape, wyrm, worm; L, inficere, to stain

an infection of the intestine or other tissues caused by adult and larval forms of the tapeworm Taenia solium. The pork tapeworm is unique in that it can use humans as both intermediate hosts for larvae and definitive hosts for the adult worm. Humans are usually infected with the adult worm after eating contaminated undercooked pork. The infection is rare in the United States but relatively common in South America, Asia, and Russia. See also cysticercosis, tapeworm infection.