A case of pork tapeworm brain infection published in the American Journal of Case Reports… Eating undercooked bacon caused persistent headaches
Entered 2024.03.10 12:46 Entered 2024.03.10 12:46 Modified 2024.03.10 12:57 Views 26
Parasites were discovered in the brain of a 52-year-old man who complained of persistent migraines. What is shocking is that this man became infected with parasites after eating undercooked bacon. [왼쪽 환자의 뇌 사진= American Journal of Case Reports / 상단 베이컨= 게티이미지뱅크 / 하단 기생충=데일리메일 캡처]Parasites were discovered in the brain of a 52-year-old man who complained of persistent migraines. What is shocking is that this man became infected with parasites after eating ‘undercooked bacon’, and the parasites even laid eggs under his skull and came out of his brain alive.
According to several recent foreign media outlets, including the British daily Daily Mail, this patient living in Orlando, Florida, visited the hospital because of migraines. He complained that he had been having chronic headaches for the past 4 months and that taking medication was not helping.
As a result of the medical team’s examination, several cysts and swelling were found in both hemispheres of the brain. Infectious disease experts determined that the migraines were caused by pig tapeworms laying eggs in the brain and irritating the tissue under the skull.
As multiple cysts were discovered on both sides of the brain through CT and MRI, he was diagnosed with parasitic neurocysticercosis (NCC). It is a disease in which larval cysts of the pork tapeworm (the immature stage of the parasite) infect various parts of the body and cause inflammation.
This man self-reported that he ‘frequently consumes soft, undercooked bacon,’ and the medical staff explained that he appears to have been infected with parasites after eating undercooked bacon. He had not recently traveled abroad or eaten raw food.
It is believed that the parasite entered the patient’s body through undercooked food and then traveled from the intestines to the brain through the bloodstream. Doctors said, “Encountering infected pork in the United States is historically very rare, and this case has public health implications.” “It can go crazy,” he said.
The patient was transferred to the intensive care unit and received the corticosteroid dexamethasone four times a day to reduce brain swelling. Additionally, after receiving albendazole and praziquantel, which are used to treat parasitic infections, for two weeks, the patient’s cysts disappeared and his migraines improved. This live case of parasitic infection was recently published in the American Journal of Case Reports.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that 1,320 to 5,050 cases of neurocysticercosis occur each year in the United States. Infection occurs when microscopic eggs from the stool of a person infected with intestinal tapeworm are swallowed, and this is called autoinfection.
Living with someone who has tapeworms or eating food prepared by someone with tapeworms can also be causes. The infection occurs most commonly in rural areas of developing countries, where pigs roam freely and eat human waste, and in areas with poor sanitation.
Symptoms of NCC vary depending on where the cyst is found in the brain, but the most common symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, balance problems, and excess fluid in the brain, known as hydrocephalus. Seizures may occur in approximately 80% of NCC patients. These symptoms may begin months or years after infection, and most often appear when the cyst begins to die.
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2024-03-10 03:47:30
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