Tapeworms are more dangerous than the smaller nematodes. A tapeworm is extremely difficult to get rid of because of the barbed hooks on its head by which it remains firmly attached to the mucous-membrane lining of the intestines. When small segments, 7-10mm (V4-V3 inch) wide and 10—20 cm (4—8 inches) long, are seen in the stools, this is no reason to think that the victim is now rid of the tapeworm. Rather, these are merely sexually mature parts containing eggs, which the full-grown worm casts off. Moreover, even though the tapeworm drops off segments from the end of its body, it does not become any shorter, because it continues to grow at the other end, the head, where the individual body segments begin. A tapeworm can produce hundreds of thousands of eggs which, through the excrement, eventually find their way into the cesspool. Of course, this is also true of the eggs of threadworms and roundworms. You can see why it is a hazardous thing to fertilise the vegetable garden with cesspool manure. In a heavy downpour the worm eggs may be spattered up from the ground onto the vegetables, thus providing a source of reinfection. The same danger arises when using liquid manure on a pasture where sheep and cows graze, as these animals stand every chance of becoming infected with tapeworm eggs.
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