The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1913-10-10
Danger of Tapeworm

Danger of Tapeworm
The Bureau of Animal Industry of
the United States Department of
Agriculture has just issued a bulletin
dealing with the existence of meas
les in cattle and the danger of con-
tracing tapeworm run by the people
who eat the meat of such cattle. The
term measles" in veterinary medi-
cine refers to a condition resulting
from the presence of tapeworm cysts
in the flesh of food animals. These
cysts, found in.beef, when swallowed
by man, develop into tapeworm.
In the case of pork these cysts
develop into another species known
as pork tapeworm. The pork tape
worm is more dangerous parasite
than the beef tapeworm because it
may not ouly develop in man if the
eggs are swallowed, but the cysts of
the pork tapeworm may lodge in
vital organs such as the brain or
heart and lead to serious consequent
ces.
The pork tapeworm is compara-
lively rare in the United States, but
the beef tapeworm and its cystic
stage are comparatively common in
the United States, the explanation
being that raw or rare beef is very
frequently eaten.
The available figures indicate that
nearly per cent of all the cattle
slaughtered in the United States, at
the present time, are affected with
measles. This exposes to consider
able risk of tapeworm infestation
the consumer whosis not careful to
cook thoroughly the beef which he
eats, and entails a large economic
loss through the condemnation of
numerous beef carcases and the
more or less expensive restrictions
placed by meat-inspection legislation
on slightly infested carcases that
may be passed for food.
When piece of beef containing
live tapeworm cyst is swallowed
by human being the immature
tapeworm contained in the cyst,
consisting of head and neck, attach
es itself to the wall of the small in
testine. In from two to three
months the tapeworm is several
feet in length, with a width of one
third up to three-fourths of an inch.
Each segment is filled with eggs.
These drop off and are expelled
through the intestines. If the eggs
get within reach of cattle, through
drainage from cesspools or privies.
and the cattle swallow them, the
eggs hatch and form cysts in various
parts of the animals bodies.
The department. in Circular 214,
urges all peop'e affected with tape
worm to get rid of the parasite, be-
cause it may be the means of affect
ing meat animals and passing the
disease on to other human beings.
The following protective measures
are also advised:
l. An efficient meat inspection to
prevent the meat, from cattle
seriously affected by measles, from
being consumed. This applies
particularly to meat slaughtered on
the farm and not federally inspected.
2. Thorough cooking of all meat.
Particular care should be taken in
he case of large pieces of meat to
see that they have been cooked
through. Knives used to cut raw
meat should not be used, without
v>ry careful cleaning, to cut bread
or other food eaten raw, as the knife
blade might very well carry a tape
worm cyst to a slice of bread.
8. Human excrement should be
so disposed of that live stock can
not gain access to it and so that there
is no possibility of communicating
the feed or water supply of animals,
Those interested in the subject
can obtain full data from the
department in the form of circular
on, Measles in cattle