Security: Cysticercosis

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Eating and drinking safely during travel abroad.

FOOD AND WATER PRECAUTIONS

Cysticercosis

Cysticercosis, a disease common in Latin America, southern and eastern Africa, and southern and southeastern Asia, is characterized by lumps in the muscles, blurry vision or brain lesions, depending on the type of the disease.

Victims become infected when larvae of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, form cysts in various parts of the body, including the muscles, brain, eye or subcutaneous tissue, and cause a disease known as cysticercosis. Cysts that form in the muscles or subcutaneous tissue typically cause no problems, although sufferers may notice lumps in their muscles; cysts in the eye cause a variety of symptoms that interfere with sight, including blurred vision. Cysts in the brain can cause serious neurologic problems. The symptoms depend upon the number and location of cysts in the brain; the most common symptoms include seizure or headache. In developing countries where the pork tapeworm is present, cysticercosis is the most common cause of seizures.

The pork tapeworm causes two distinct infections in humans. Humans can develop an intestinal infection with tapeworms after ingestion of uncooked pork from an infected pig. Intestinal tapeworm infection usually causes no symptoms and is not dangerous, except that the tapeworm produces many eggs that the human carrier excretes in feces; these eggs may cause cysticercosis.

Cysticercosis develops in humans after accidental ingestion of tapeworm eggs contained in human fecal material. A person must ingest tapeworm eggs to develop cysticercosis. Some farmers use human waste as fertilizer or contaminated water for irrigation. These practices can infect fruits and vegetables with tapeworm eggs. People infected with the tapeworm who do not follow careful hand washing practices may infect themselves with cysticercosis. Food handlers infected with intestinal tapeworm may also contaminate food. Also, tapeworm eggs may be accidentally ingested after close contact with someone who has an intestinal tapeworm infection.

Thus, cysticercosis may develop even in people who have never eaten raw pork or been infected with intestinal tapeworm. In fact, ingestion of food, vegetables or water contaminated with human feces is the most important source of cysticercosis infection.

A person with cysticercosis is not contagious. But people who have ingested raw pork and are infected with intestinal pork tapeworm are very contagious.

Symptoms of cysticercosis develop months to more than a year after ingestion of tapeworm eggs. Treatment is available, but may not relieve all symptoms if critical areas of the brain or eye have been damaged.

To avoid infection with cysticercosis in developing countries, always wash and peel all raw vegetables and fruits before eating. Drink only boiled or bottled water and do not put ice in your drinks unless you are certain it was made with purified or otherwise de-contaminated water. Always wash hands before eating. Do not eat undercooked pork.

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