Taenia solium vs. Taenia saginata

Taeniasis is the parasitic infection of humans caused by adult tapeworm species; i.e. Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm), *Taenia solium (pork tapeworm),*or Taenia asiatica (Asian tapeworm). T. solium and T. saginata have a worldwide distribution but the incidence is higher in developing countries whereas  Taenia asiatica is limited to Asia.

T. solium tapeworm infections can lead to human cysticercosis.

The major differences betweenT. soliumandT. saginataare summarized in this table:

Note: Most of the photos of the parasite posted here are taken from Website of CDC

References

1. Harrison, L. J., & Parkhouse, R. M. (1989). Taenia saginata and Taenia solium: reciprocal models. Acta Leidensia, 57(2), 143–152.
2. Mayta, H., Talley, A., Gilman, R. H., Jimenez, J., Verastegui, M., Ruiz, M., Garcia, H. H., & Gonzalez, A. E. (2000). Differentiating Taenia solium and Taenia saginata infections by simple hematoxylin-eosin staining and PCR-restriction enzyme analysis. Journal of clinical microbiology, 38(1), 133–137. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.38.1.133-137.2000