Cysticercosis

Cysticercosis is an infection by a parasite called Taenia solium (T. solium), a pork tapeworm that creates cysts in different areas in the body.

Cysticercosis refers to tissue infection after exposure to eggs of Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm. The disease is spread via the fecal-oral route through contaminated food and water, and is primarily a food borne disease. After ingestion the eggs pass through the lumen of the intestine into the tissues and migrate preferentially to the brain and muscles.

There they form cysts that can persist for years. In some cases the cysts will eventually cause an inflammatory reaction presenting as painful nodules in the muscles and seizures when the cysts are located in the brain. Symptomatic disease from Taenia solium cysts in the brain is referred to as neurocysticercosis and is the most common helminthic (tapeworm) infection of the brain worldwide.