Two strains of these parasitic tapeworms are particularly dangerous to humans: Taenia Saginatus (beef tapeworm) and Taenia Solium (pork tapeworm). You will become infected if you eat raw or improperly cooked infected meat products. Untreated, the worms will attach themselves to the lining of your small intestine, utilizing suckers that protrude from their bodies and heads.

These worms do not present an immediate health threat, although they can grow large enough to block the intestinal tract (specimens have been reported as large as 20 meters). It is also possible for a tapeworm to lodge in your appendix, resulting in appendicitis. In rare cases, these parasites have also been known to infect the brain, the skeletal muscles, the cerebellum, and the heart. Symptoms of such infections include fits, personality changes, and paralysis.