Thekey differencebetween Taenia solium and Taenia saginata is that thepigs are the intermediate hosts ofTaenia solium,while the cattle are the intermediate hosts ofTaenia saginata.
Tapeworms areparasiticsegmentedflatwormswhich are several meters long. They belong to genusTaenia. There are differentTaeniaspecies. Among them,Taenia soliumandTaenia saginataare medically important two species. These worms use humans as their sole definitive hosts. Therefore, they live in ourintestines, feeding off what we consume. They cause abdominal pain, nausea, and weight loss. It is not easy to eliminate these worms by deworming treatments. Hence, we need to use specific anti-parasitic drugs to control them.
CONTENT
1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Taenia Solium
3.What is Taenia Saginata
4.Similarities Between Taenia Solium and Taenia Saginata
5.Side by Side Comparison – Taenia Solium vs Taenia Saginata in Tabular Form
6.Summary
What is Taenia Solium?
Taenia solium,also known as pork tapeworm, is a medically important tapeworm that lives in our intestine, causing intestinal infections. It belongs to class: cestoidea, order: cyclophyllidea, and family: Taeniidae.T. soliumuses pigs as its intermediate host and humans are the definitive host of it. When we consume uncooked pork or insufficiently cooked pork, we ingest larval cysts ofT. solium. Therefore, the ingestion of contaminated pork is the cause ofT. soliuminfection or taeniasis. AdultT. soliumcauses taeniasis while larvae cause cysticercosis.
AdultT. soliumis approximately 2-4 m long. It is white in colour and ribbon-like in appearance. Its scolex (head) has 4 suckers, and the rostellum has two crowns of horns. Adult worm body is a chain of segments, and each segment has a reproductive unit.
What is Taenia Saginata?
Taenia saginata,also known as beef tapeworm, is another medically important tapeworm. The intermediate host ofT. saginatais cattle. Humans are the definitive host ofT. saginata. Therefore, when we ingest uncooked beef or raw beef, we getT. saginatainfections. Compared to taeniasis, which is caused due toT. solium,the taeniasis caused byT. saginatahas no major impact on human health.Moreover,T. saginatadoes not cause cysticercosis.
AdultT. saginatais normally 4 to 10 m long and white in colour. Its body has three regions as scolex, neck, and strobila. Similar toT. solium,T. saginataalso has four suckers in scolex but has no hooks. Also,T. saginatalacks a rostellum.
What are the Similarities Between Taenia Solium and Taenia Saginata?
- Taenia soliumandTaenia saginataare tapeworm species belonging to class Cestoda.
- They are zoonotic parasites of public health importance.
- They are segmented flatworms that live in our intestines feeding on what we eat.
- Adult worms cause taeniasis in humans.
- 绦虫都使用人类作为他们的终宿主.
- Their eggs are indistinguishable. Hence, they are difficult to differentiate by parasitological examination.
- Both types require single or multiple hosts to complete their life cycle.
- Both types of tapeworms are white in colour.
- Their scolex has four suckers.
- Both tapeworms have a body which is a chain of numerous body segments called proglottid.
What is the Difference Between Taenia Solium and Taenia Saginata?
T. soliumuses pigs as its intermediate host whileT. saginatauses cattle as its intermediate host. Thus, this is the key difference between Taenia solium and Taenia saginata. Moreover,T. soliuminfection occurs through uncooked pork, whileT. saginatainfection occurs through uncooked beef.
The below infographic summarizes the difference between Taenia solium and Taenia saginata.
Summary – Taenia Solium vs Taenia Saginata
Taenia soliumandTaenia saginataare two medically important tapeworm species. They cause a parasitic infection called taeniasis to humans.T. soliumuses pigs as the normal intermediate host. In contrast,T. saginatauses cattle as the normal intermediate host. This is the key difference between Taenia solium and Taenia saginata. However, both species use humans as the sole definitive host. They have segmented bodies, and they are white in colour. ButT. saginatalacks hooks in the scolex and a rostellum, unlikeT. solium. Moreover,T. saginatadoes not cause cysticercosis. So, this summarizes the difference between Taenia solium and Taenia saginata.
Reference:
1.“Taenia Solium.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Oct. 2019,Available here.
2. Lesh, Ellen J. “Tapeworm (Taenia Solium, Taenia Saginata, Diphyllobothrium, Cysticercosis, Neurocysticercosis).” StatPearls [Internet]., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 4 June 2019,Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Taenia solium” By Unknown – Memorie sulla storia e notomia degli animali senza vertebre del regno di Napoli Chiaje, Stefano delle (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia
2. “Taenia saginata adult 5260 lores” (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia
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