To the Editor: In an illustrative Focal Point article, Akarsu and Akpinar1 diagnose an intestinal human Taenia saginata case apparently only by means of endoscopy. Lawrence J. Brandt, MD, comments at the end of the article that "humans get Taenia infection after eating raw or undercooked meat contaminated with cestode larvae (pork, T solium; beef, T saginata)." That is true, but humans can also acquire a third human Taenia spp; by eating raw or undercooked pork, namely Taenia asiatica.2 This species is frequently cited in humans in most Asian countries, and there are no reasons not to consider it a cosmopolitan cestode, like the other two Taenia spp. It is also unknown whether T asiatica is able to cause human cysticercosis,3 a relevant question concerning human health that remains open. Therefore, the specific diagnosis of human Taenia tapeworms is essential at adult and larval stage.
Galán-Puchades, M. T., & Fuentes, M. V. (2010). On the diagnosis of human taeniasis by endoscopy. En Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (Vol. 72, Issue 4, pp. 903-904). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gie.2010.02.006
Elsevier BV
