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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffThe consequences of tapeworm infection can vary, depending on what species of tapeworm you're infected with.
Beef tapeworm usually not harmful
The beef tapeworm can be relatively harmless, since it lives only in your intestine and is easily treated with medication.
Pork, dog and sheep tapeworms can cause serious complications
- Cysticercosis. Ingesting eggs of the pork tapeworm can result in infection by the larval form of the organism, called cysticercosis. These larvae can migrate to tissues and organs throughout your body and develop into lesions or cysts. Lesions and cysts grow slowly over many months and can disrupt normal organ function, host a secondary infection or even rupture.
- Neurocysticercosis. This is an especially dangerous complication of the pork tapeworm infection. This disease affects the brain and central nervous system, resulting in headaches and visual impairment, as well as seizures, meningitis or dementia. Death can occur in severe cases of infection.
- Echinococcosis. This infection is a complication that can follow the ingestion of the eggs of the echinococcus tapeworm, most commonly found in dogs or sheep. In humans the larvae that develop can migrate to organs — often the liver — and cause large cysts to develop. These cysts can place pressure on nearby blood vessels, hindering circulation or causing the blood vessels to rupture. Surgery or liver transplantation may be required in severe cases of infection.
