Abstract
The tapeworm Taenia (T.) solium can be responsible for two different conditions: taeniasis and cysticercosis. Helminth infections in human host cause an immune response associated with elevated levels of IgE, tissue eosinophilia and mastocytosis, and with the presence of CD4+ T cells that preferentially produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Individuals exposed to helminth infections may have allergic inflammatory responses to parasites and parasite antigens. PubMed search of human cases of allergic reactions occurring during T. solium infestation was performed combining the terms (allergy, urticaria, angioedema, asthma, anaphylaxis) with T. solium. A study was considered eligible for inclusion in the review if it reported data on patients with T. solium infestation who had signs or symptoms of allergy. In literature we found six articles reporting the association between an allergic reaction and T. solium infestation: two cases of urticaria, two cases of relapsing angioedema, one case of asthma and two cases of anaphylaxis. Despite the large diffusion of T. solium infestation, we found only a few cases of concomitant allergic reaction and the presence of Taenia in the host. The association between T. solium infestation and allergic manifestations has never been clearly demonstrated, and in absence of a well-documented causality the hypotheses are merely speculative. Therefore, the association between Taenia infection and allergy needs to be thoroughly studied to better clarify if this association may really exist and which is the pathogenetic mechanism supported.
Highlights
The tapeworm Taenia (T.) solium can be responsible for two different conditions: taeniasis and cysticercosis
In literature we found six articles reporting the association between an allergic reaction and T. solium infestation: two cases of urticaria, two cases of relapsing angioedema, one case of asthma and two cases of anaphylaxis (Table 1)
Three recent reviews indicate that autochthonous human T. solium taeniasis/cysticercosis may be possible in Europe [24,25,26], but current peer reviewed literature is biased towards Western Europe [27]
Summary
The tapeworm Taenia (T.) solium can be responsible for two different conditions: taeniasis and cysticercosis. Taeniasis is infection with an adult tapeworm, while cysticercosis is infection with larval stages (of T. solium) in body tissues. Taeniasis occurs only in the human host, after ingestion of undercooked pork infected with cysticerci. In taeniasis an adult worm is present in the intestine, and the infestation is usually asymptomatic and generally recognized when segments of proglottids are found in stool specimens. Cysticercosis is caused by ingestion of food contaminated with feces, or by autoinfection. In the latter case, a human infected with adult T. solium can ingest eggs produced by that tapeworm, either through fecal contamination or, possibly, from proglottids carried
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