Countless Tapeworm Eggs Inside Brain, Body Of Man Who Ate Uncooked Meat

A 74-year-old man who enjoyed eating uncooked pork and beef had countless tapeworm eggs inside his brain and body, according to a recent article published by BMJ Case Reports. The man went to the doctor after he was unable to walk properly and suffered from memory loss.

The staff at the medical emergency of a hospital in Taiwan found his vital signs stable. But a physical examination showed the left side of his face had drooped, his speech slurred and he was very weak. The patient later underwent an MRI, CT scans and X-rays and doctors were horrified to find hundreds of tiny tapeworm eggs in almost every part of his body.

Images shared by the BMJ Case Reports show eggs in his brain, spine, buttocks, neck, chest and legs.

Health professionals said the man was suffering from a condition called neurocysticercosis — a tapeworm infection caused due to eating infected pork. In the condition, the infection attacks the central nervous system, according to the World Health Organization. This condition occurs when a person eats infected or undercooked meat. The meat develops an intestinal tapeworm infection, known as taeniasis.

Neurocysticercosis, which is the most serious form of tapeworm infection, needs to be treated before it damages the central nervous system, muscles, skin and eyes. This is also a common cause of epilepsy and seizures.

"It is important to recognise disseminated cysticercosis clinically and to perform appropriate radiological investigations, because this condition requires an appropriate therapy. Patients who have not undergone treatment and who have active cysts remain at a risk of serious complications," the BMJ Case Reports wrote.

The patient was given treatment such as anti-parasitic medications, steroids and a cerebral shunt to relieve pressure on the brain caused by fluid build-up, Dr. Ming-Pin Lin, co-author of the case, said.

"Patients who have not undergone treatment and who have active cysts remain at a risk of serious complications," he added.

In March, it was reported that an 18-year-old in India died after tapeworm cysts were found buried in his brain and left him unconscious. In the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was reported that the teenager complained of pain in this right groin for a week. He also experienced tenderness in his right testes and swelling in this right eye. An MRI exam determined that he had multiple cystic lesions throughout his brain, the cerebellum and the brain stem, all pointing to neurocysticercosis. The same was also seen in the testes in eye areas.