NON-PAINFUL DISEASES
Tapeworm Stages.....................................................
Our bodies harbor numerous stages of tapeworms. But not the
tapeworm itself, which may belong to a dog, cow, or pigeon.
Tapeworms lead complicated lives, much like insects with their
caterpillars, larvae, larval molts, pupae and eventual adults.
Tapeworms shed eggs with the bowel movement of the animal
host. The eggs blow in the dust and reside in the earth. A vege-
tarian animal nibbling vegetation near this filth, or licking dirt
and dust off its coat, swallows the eggs. Humans, too, eat plenty
of filth by licking their fingers. As children we all eat dirt simply
by eating with unwashed hands.
The Jewish society discovered the great importance of
washing hands before eating, thousands of years ago. But many of
us choose to ignore truths that seem old fashioned. In our own
relatively short life times we cannot see the whole picture as
well as the prophets and seers of ancient
cultures could. We eat plenty of dirt and
along with it, the eggs of tape-worms.
Dog and cat tapeworms are most
prevalent, but sheep, cow, pig, and sea-
gull tapeworms are also common.
There is hardly a predator species in
existence that doesn't have its own char-
acteristic tapeworm. Whatever animal
species you live near, or once lived near,
you probably swallowed some of its filth
and some tape eggs. The eggs hatch in
your stomach and the tiny larvae burrow
into a neighboring organ without any
consideration that this is your stomach
wall or spleen or muscle. The larva's
plan is not to grow into a long worm—
that can wait. The larva must simply
Fig. 30 Some cys-
ticercus varieties
(types) have multiple
heads.