In a shocking discovery, a 52-year-old man in Florida, US, visited a hospital after suffering from severe migraines. He was left stunned after the doctors told him that he had a tapeworm infestation in his brain.
As per the New York Post, the unidentified man sought medical help after his aggressive headaches became more frequent over the past four months. Neuroimaging disclosed multiple cysts on both sides of his brain, which later turned out to be pork tapeworm eggs.
It's believed that he contracted the ailment from eating undercooked bacon when the patient told doctors about his lifelong preference for soft bacon. Microscopic eggs could have entered his intestine, which resulted in tapeworm development and led to eggs that ended up in his feces.
Doctors diagnosed him with the parasitic infection neurocysticercosis. The larval cysts of the pork tapeworm can infect various parts of the body, causing a condition known as cysticercosis. Larval cysts in the brain result in a form of cysticercosis called neurocysticercosis.
Details of the man's illness were recently published in the American Journal of Case Reports. In these case report, researchers wrote that it is historically very unusual to encounter infected pork in the United States, and our case may have public health implications.
The patient was taken to the intensive care unit. To reduce the swelling in his brain, he was given the corticosteroid dexamethasone four times a day. He was on anthelmintic treatment, including albendazole and praziquantel, for two weeks, which are used to treat worm infections.
Consequently, the cysts vanished, and his migraines were corrected.
According to the published case report, the patient had a medical history of migraine headaches, complicated type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity. He had a 4-month change in his migraines, which were becoming severe, worse over his occiput bilaterally, and unresponsive to abortive therapy. The patient had the habit of eating undercooked bacon, through which he would have developed neurocysticercosis via autoinfection. 1
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) claimed that there are about 1,320 to 5,050 cases of neurocysticercosis every year in the US.
According to the CDC, affected individuals can spread eggs to other members of their household, especially through food, if they do not thoroughly wash their hands after a bowel movement.
The CDC also mentions that the unusual ailment is preventable but still leads to hospitalization for about 1,000 unlucky Americans in a year. 2
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Komal Bhoi/MSM)
References:
Eamonn Byrnes, Brian Shaw, Ryan Shaw, Mario Madruga, Stephen J. Carlan, Neurocysticercosis Presenting as a Migraine in the United State, Am J Case Rep 2024; 25:e943133. Available at-
https://amjcaserep.com/abstract/index/idArt/943133
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/resources/pdf/npis_in_us_neurocysticercosis.pdf
