| Diagnostic methods | Pros and cons |
| Parasitological diagnosis | |
The diagnosis relies on the detection of proglottids or eggs in fresh stool samples. Caution: T. solium eggs are infectious (see cysticercosis)!
Eggs of T. solium and T. saginata are morphologically identical.
Gravid proglottids of T. solium and T. saginata can be differentiated after ink injection (less than 13 uterine branches in T. solium, more than 15 in T. saginata). | - No differentiation of T. solium and T. saginata eggs
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| Molecular diagnosis | |
| No tests developed so far | |
| Antigen detection | |
| Detection of copro-antigens can be achieved with immunoassays. Microplate assays are more sensitive than dipsticks. | - Higher sensitivity than microscopy
- T. solium and T. saginata cannot be differentiated
- Advantage for epidemiological studies
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| Antibody detection | |
| Infections with adult T. solium can also be indirectly and specifically diagnosed by EITB using excretory-secretory antigens of non-gravid tapeworms. | - Serology not yet fully validated
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