Taenia Solium - Pathogenesis

Pathogenesis

Ingestion of T. solium eggs or proglottid rupture within the host intestine can cause larvae to migrate into host tissue and cause cysticercosis. This is the most frequent and severe disease caused by T. solium. In symptomatic cases, a wide spectrum of symptoms may be expressed, including headaches, dizziness and occasional seizures. In more severe cases, dementia or hypertension due to perturbation of the normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid can occur. The severity of cysticercosis depends on location, size and number of parasite larvae in tissues, as well as the host immune response. Other symptoms include sensory deficits, involuntary movements, and brain system dysfunction. In children, ocular location of cysts is more common than cystation in other locations of the body. Heavy infection with T. solium can lead to neurocysticercosis, which can lead to epilepsy, seizures, lesions in the brain, blindness, tumor-like growths, and low eosinophil levels.