Longest Tapeworm Removed From A Person: Surprising Facts For Kids

Doctors have found a number of things in the human stomach including expensive diamond rings, scissors, magnetic toys, coins, and whatnot.

But the only thing to leave them speechless was the discovery of tapeworms in the human stomach. When we say tapeworm, people generally imagine a small wriggling parasite.

But we are not talking about them. Long tapeworms which are several feet long have been found in the stomachs of several patients. An adult worm can grow up to 82 ft (25 m).

The parasite enters the human body through our mouth when we eat undercooked meat. The worst part of a tapeworm infection is that it can go undetected for several years. These worms are silent killers and do not create any health complications until they are nice and big.

Interested to know more information related to the longest tape worm ever to be removed from a human stomach? Keep reading. Once you have finished reading this article, take a look at longest living dog breed and longest toe nails here on Kidadl.

What is a tapeworm?

A tapeworm is a parasitic flatworm that belongs to the Cestoda class. These worms live in the intestine of some animals and at times, even humans. They can even grow up to 82 ft (25 m).

Tapeworms are parasites that enter the human body when we drink or eat something that has been contaminated. The worms or eggs upon entering the body will latch onto the walls of the intestine.

They live off the food that is being consumed by the host. The most common way of ingesting a tapeworm is by eating undercooked or raw meat of an infected animal.

Some symptoms of tapeworm infection are weight loss, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite. Asian countries like India and Thailand are some of the places with the highest reports of tapeworm infections.

Longest Tapeworm Removed From A Person

The story about the longest tapeworm ever to be removed has grabbed the attention of people from all over the world.

A 67 year old man from Thailand sought medical attention after having severe stomach aches. The 67 year old man was from the Nong Khai province in Thailand.

Since the patient had no previously recorded medical issues, many tests were taken to identify the problem. The doctors, after going through the reports, were shocked to discover 28 eggs in his stool sample and a 59 ft (18 m) long tapeworm in the man's gut.

The patient was given deworming medicine, after which the tapeworm came out of the man's bottom. The patient's family was also asked by the doctors to take certain medical tests to find out if they were also infected.

Another incident involving a 45 year old man in India also left the doctors in complete shock. The 6.6 ft (2 m) long tapeworm found in the man's gut was discovered after the doctors from PVS Memorial Hospital in Kerala performed colonoscopy and endoscopy.

The tapeworm was taken out of the patient's stomach through his mouth. The patient was sedated throughout the process, which was 90 minutes long. The 6.6 ft (2 m) long tapeworm was Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm.

Tapeworm parasites can grow up to 11.5 ft (3.5 m) in the human body. Since the infected person does not have any notable symptoms, a tapeworm infection can go unnoticed for several years.

Longest Tapeworm Found

Fish or broad tapeworm, also known as Diphyllobothrium latum, is the longest tapeworm species found in humans. This tapeworm enters the mouth of the host when they eat raw, undercooked freshwater fish. These tapeworms are found in almost all parts of the world but are most common in subarctic and temperate regions.

This tapeworm is 9.8-32.8 ft (3-10 m) in length. Humans and some animals can get infected when the plerocercoid larvae enter the human body.

The plerocercoid larvae present in raw fish upon ingestion will attach themselves to the small intestine. In 21-35 days, the worm becomes an adult. These adult worms lay eggs which are then transferred into the feces.

The Average Length Of A Tapeworm

The average tapeworm length is between 4-28 in (10.2-71.1 cm).

Taeniasis is the medical name for a parasitic infection of tapeworms in humans. There are more than 1,000 different tapeworm species. The tapeworm lifecycle begins with an animal swallowing the eggs.

These eggs hatch into larvae. The larval forms present in the intestines develop into cysts when they enter into other tissues. There can be around 100,000 eggs in each body segment. Dipylidium species are the most frequent tapeworm species seen in dogs and cats.

The Echinococcus tapeworm is uncommon but may be deadly to humans if ingested through contaminated meat. All Taenia genus tapeworms can infect humans and animals. Eating undercooked meat is like holding the door open for the parasite to enter.

Did you know, a patient who sat on the toilet saw a long tapeworm coming out of his back? He took a few snaps of the fleshy mass without knowing that it was a tapeworm. He thought that a part of his gut was coming out.

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