Generally, people live with relatively few symptoms even with a large tapeworm inside them. They may experience discomfort around the anus when proglottids are discharged, and diagnosis is made on the basis of seeing the flat white proglottids wriggling in the stools. Mild abdominal pain or discomfort, nausea, change in appetite, weakness, and weight loss can also occur with Taenia saginata infection.

Medical treatment is to give a single dose of praziquantel (one 10 mg tablet for every kilogram of the patient's body weight), which is highly effective at killing tapeworms. You are not expected to prescribe praziquantel, which is given at a higher health facility.

Which other communicable disease have you learned about, which is treated with praziquantel?

Show answer

Schistosomiasis is also treated with praziquantel, but at a much higher dosage (40 to 60 mg/kg, given in two or three doses during a single day.

Last modified: Wednesday, 9 July 2014, 6:02 PM