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Category: Food Microbiology
Helminths in Meat, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555819972/9781555819965.ch24-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555819972/9781555819965.ch24-2.gifAbstract:
Foodborne parasites pose a risk to human health in virtually all regions of the world. In addition to the direct effect that these parasites have on human health, zoonotic parasites found in food animals often serve as trade barriers for countries where these parasites occur. A considerable body of legislation has been developed for the purpose of preventing and controlling zoonotic parasites in food animals, including very costly meat inspection programs. There are four meat-borne helminths of medical significance: Trichinella spp., Taenia solium, and Taenia asiatica, which occur primarily in pork, and Taenia saginata, which is found in beef. Despite the availability of sensitive, specific diagnostic tests, veterinary public health programs (meat inspection), and effective chemotherapeutic agents for human tapeworm carriers, these parasites continue to be a threat to public health in many parts of the world. There are a variety of reasons for this, including animal management systems that perpetuate infection, inadequate or poorly enforced inspection requirements for slaughtered animals, new sources of infection, and demographic changes in human populations that introduce new culinary practices of preparing meats. Current control and preventive procedures are often inadequate, and more effective control measures are needed to ensure safe meat for human consumption.
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Scanning electron micrograph of a female adult worm of T. spiralis with its prominent vulval opening (magnification, ×2,450).
Scanning electron micrograph of a male adult of T. spiralis with its copulatory bell (magnification, ×1,400).
Example of T. spiralis muscle larvae in compressed muscle tissue viewed through a trichinoscope.
Taeniids are segmented flatworms consisting of proglottids. This micrograph depicts a gravid proglottid of T. saginata which possesses both male and female reproductive systems and at least 16 lateral uterine branches filled with eggs.
A gravid taeniid proglottid contains uterine branches filled with eggs (see Fig. 24.4 ). This micrograph shows a single T. saginata egg (magnification, ×590) extracted from the uterine branches.
Gravid proglottid of T. solium. Note that there are fewer lateral uterine branches than in T. saginata ( Fig. 24.4 ).