Abstract
Taenia saginata is the most common species of tapeworm infecting humans. Infection is acquired by eating cysticercus larvae in undercooked beef. A closely related species, T. asiatica, is found in eastern and southeastern Asia. The larvae of T. asiatica develop in viscera of pigs. In northern Russia, there is a third member of this morphologically indistinguishable group. Cysticerci of so-called northern T. saginata are found in cerebral meninges of reindeer, and the unique life cycle is dependent on a native custom of eating raw reindeer brain. We report the winding history of this mysterious tapeworm from the first reports to the present time. In addition, we confirm the position of this parasite as a strain of T. saginata by analyzing a mitochondrial DNA sequence of an archival specimen. The origin of this strain might date back to reindeer domestication and contacts between cattle-herding and reindeer-herding peoples in Asia.
Highlights
Taenia saginata is the most common species of tapeworm infecting humans
Unlike the other 2 species, T. solium commonly forms cysticerci in tissues of various atypical intermediate hosts, including rabbits, camels, dogs, cats, and humans (2,4)
Another major feature distinguishing T. solium from the other 2 species is a double crown of rostellar hooks, which can be observed by microscopy in adult and larval stages; these hooks are absent in T. asiatica and T. saginata
Summary
Taenia saginata is the most common species of tapeworm infecting humans. Infection is acquired by eating cysticercus larvae in undercooked beef. Krotov (6,7) reported that the northern strain of T. saginata was observed in 1872 by Dobrotvorsky, who reported taeniasis in the native population of Sakhalin Island. The suggestion that cases of taeniasis on Sakhalin Island represent the first report of the northern strain of T. saginata cannot be verified.
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