700 Tapeworms Found Inside Man's Body After He Complained Of Headaches, Likely Caused From Eating Uncooked Meat

Doctors found 700 tapeworms in a man’s brain and chest after he complained of continuous headaches and seizures. The incident took place in Hangzhou, China, last week.

The man, identified as 43-year-old Zhu Zhong-fa, went to First Affiliated Hospital of College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, and told the doctors that he has been suffering from continuous headaches and seizures for over a month. A thorough check-up revealed that the man was suffering from taeniasis and had over 700 tapeworms inside his body.

Speaking to local media Wednesday, Dr. Wang Jian-rong from the department of infectious disease, said, "There are multiple presences of space-occupying lesions in the patient's brain. It's also in the lungs and fills up the muscles inside the chest cavity."

Meanwhile, Zhong-fa believes he got the infection because of having uncooked meat.

Explaining the same, Dr. Jian-rong said, "We tend to have a lot of meat-based meals in our daily lives, like roast lamb and roast pork. If it's undercooked, the tapeworm eggs will stay alive when ingested. And if you have had the uncooked meat, there's a chance that the tapeworms can travel through the body and inflict different diseases."

The man was undergoing treatment, the duration of which depends on the severity of the infection.