Once inside the larval flea, the tapeworm egg continues to develop as the larval flea matures into an adult flea.
What happens with tapeworm eggs?
If you ingest certain tapeworm eggs, they can migrate outside your intestines and form larval cysts in body tissues and organs (invasive infection). If you ingest tapeworm larvae, however, they develop into adult tapeworms in your intestines (intestinal infection).
Are dried up tapeworms dead?
There are several medicines that will kill adult tapeworms that live in the intestine. The worms that are passed will be dead, but segments are full of eggs that could potentially hatch. You prevent reinfection by preventing exposure to intermediate hosts. Treat for fleas if there are any.
How long does it take tapeworm eggs to hatch?
Larvae hatch from eggs in one to six days given appropriate environmental conditions (a relative humidity between 50 percent and 92 percent).
How do tapeworm eggs look like?
They look like small moving "inchworms" as they are passed, but, when dried up, can look like small white to tan sesame seeds or grains of rice. Since these egg packets do not break open in the stool, tapeworm eggs are usually not identified in a routine microscopic stool examination.
