US man gets parasitic worm in brain likely from eating undercooked bacon

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A middle-aged man in the US with a historical past of consuming undercooked “soft” bacon for years has been discovered to have tapeworm larva infecting his brain, medical doctors reported in a brand new examine.

The 52-year-old man with a historical past of migraines went to the physician as his complications grew to become extra frequent and extreme and unresponsive to common treatments.

His ache additionally grew to become worse throughout the again of his cranium, based on the examine, printed final week in the American Journal of Case Reports.

A CT X-ray scan of his cranium then revealed a number of cysts deep inside his brain in the white matter a part of the organ that gives an insulating operate to nerve cells.

Further scans revealed extra cysts in the entrance and center a part of his brain’s outer layer, which led to medical doctors confirming that he had neurocysticercosis, which happens when cysts of the tapeworm Taenia solium embed inside the nervous system.

Humans usually develop into contaminated with tapeworm cycts after they ingest water or meals contaminated with the parasite.

Infection of this sort is understood to be rising in frequency in developed international locations on account of elevated entry to journey.

Its severity might vary from being symptomless to life-threatening, largely relying on which elements of the physique the cysts infect.

The commonest symptom often is seizure, which is seen in 80 per cent of instances, based on the examine.

Treatment usually entails the usage of anti-worm medicine or surgical procedure or a mix of strategies.

“Historically, developed countries have not been major hotbeds for infection due to high scrutiny of food safety and sanitary standards,” researchers say.

One of the peculiarities of the man’s case was that his publicity historical past was “unremarkable,” based on the medical doctors.

The affected person lived in the US and had no latest journey to endemic international locations or contact with pigs.

He had additionally not visited a farm, and lived in what researchers name a “modern home” with good sanitation.

However, he had a behavior of eating undercooked bacon, by which he would have developed neurocysticercosis, medical doctors say.

They suspect the affected person could have gotten contaminated by the tapeworm an infection on account of his eating habits and by not correctly washing his fingers after utilizing the lavatory.

The affected person survived the worm an infection following remedy with anti-parasitic and anti inflammatory medicine.

Doctors name for contemplating neurocysticercosis on differential analysis after they consider acute modifications in migraines.