In many parts of the world, tapeworms are found in abundance. In the United States and Canada, tapeworm infections have dropped to low levels because of stricter meat inspection and more-hygienic feeding of farm animals. Most patients never know they harbor the worm, so few are its symptoms.
Some people experience vague abdominal pain and lose weight.
People can avoid infection by forgoing raw or undercooked beef. If a person has the misfortune of renting his intestine to a tapeworm, praziquantel or niclosamide readily evicts the deadbeat. The pork tapeworm is slightly smaller than the beef variety. The pork tapeworm cannot be dismissed as cavalierly as the beef worm. Worm embryos can penetrate the intestinal wall and inch their way to distant sites, including the brain.