If humans ingest the egg of Taenia solium, they may develop

If humans ingest the egg of Taenia solium, they may develop

• A. Cysticercosis
• B. Hydatid disease
• C. Schistosomiasis
• D. Trichinellosis

Answer: (A)

The situation is testing what happens when Taenia solium eggs are ingested. When humans swallow these eggs, they hatch into oncospheres that penetrate the intestinal wall and travel through the bloodstream to various tissues, where they form cysticerci. This tissue cyst formation is cysticercosis, which can involve muscles, eyes, or the brain (neurocysticercosis, a common cause of seizures in endemic areas). Ingesting the cysticerci in undercooked pork, by contrast, leads to taeniasis (the intestinal tapeworm), not tissue cysts. Hydatid disease is caused by Echinococcus species and results from ingesting their eggs, but it produces hydatid cysts in organs like the liver and lungs, not Taenia solium cysticerci. Schistosomiasis comes from cercariae penetrating the skin of humans in freshwater, not from Taenia solium eggs. Trichinellosis arises from eating meat containing Trichinella larvae, not Taenia solium eggs.

The situation is testing what happens when Taenia solium eggs are ingested. When humans swallow these eggs, they hatch into oncospheres that penetrate the intestinal wall and travel through the bloodstream to various tissues, where they form cysticerci. This tissue cyst formation is cysticercosis, which can involve muscles, eyes, or the brain (neurocysticercosis, a common cause of seizures in endemic areas). Ingesting the cysticerci in undercooked pork, by contrast, leads to taeniasis (the intestinal tapeworm), not tissue cysts.

Hydatid disease is caused by Echinococcus species and results from ingesting their eggs, but it produces hydatid cysts in organs like the liver and lungs, not Taenia solium cysticerci. Schistosomiasis comes from cercariae penetrating the skin of humans in freshwater, not from Taenia solium eggs. Trichinellosis arises from eating meat containing Trichinella larvae, not Taenia solium eggs.