Introduction

Tapewormsareparasites that can live in a person's intestine (bowel). They don't always cause symptoms and when they do they are often mistaken for another illness.

Tapeworm infections are most commonly seen in developing countries and are rare in the UK.

Tapeworms are known medically as cestodes. They are usually flat and ribbon-like and made up of segments.

Some adult worms grow to 4.5-9m (15-30 feet) in length.

Humans can catch them by:

• touching contaminated faeces (stools) and then placing their hands near their mouth
• swallowingfood or water containing traces of contaminated faeces
• eating raw contaminated pork, beef or fish

The segments will look like white grains of rice but sometimes longer sections of the worm may need to be seen by an expert to confirm diagnosis.

A tapeworm infection does not always cause symptoms. Orif there are symptoms typically stomach pain and sometimes vomiting and Traveller's diarrhoea they are often mistaken for another illness.

Infection is usually diagnosed from a stool sample but further tests may be needed depending on the type of tapeworm infection.

Raw meat and fish in particular must be cooked and stored correctly. Vegetables and fruit should be washed thoroughly before they are eaten.

Your personal hygiene is even more important if you are in close contact with animals, or travelling in a country where tapeworm infections are more common.

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