Photos. CT scans can show what happens if you eat undercooked pork. What was found in the patient

Body scans have revealed the dangers of eating undercooked pork, showing parasites can infect the body through contaminated meat.

Sharing a photo of a patient on social media with clear signs of infection with the cysticercosis parasite, Dr. Sam Ghaly, a physician at the University of Florida, wrote Daily Mail.

This is one of the craziest CT scans I’ve ever seen.

What is the diagnosis? pic.twitter.com/DSJmPfCy9L

— Sam Ghali, MD (@EM_RESUS) August 25, 2024

How infection occurs

Cysticercosis occurs when the larvae of a type of tapeworm penetrate tissues such as muscle and even the brain.

These form firm calcified cysts that can be felt as lumps under the skin and appear as white oval “rice grain” nodules on medical scans.

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Although unpleasant, they are usually harmless because the larvae cannot survive outside the intestine. However, if cysts develop in the brain, they can cause problems.

The tapeworm that causes the infection enters the body by eating its eggs.

These eggs can be found in undercooked pork and can develop into adult tapeworms in the human intestine, but this does not directly cause cysticercosis.

Instead, cysticercosis occurs when an infected person spreads tapeworm eggs to other people in their feces.

“It is important to note that the clinical syndrome known as cysticercosis only occurs when these eggs are ingested via fecal-oral transmission.” Doctor Dr. Gary said on X.

Symptoms

This transmission occurs primarily when an infected person does not wash their hands properly after using the toilet, although the eggs can also be spread through water contaminated with feces.

Once ingested in this way, the eggs release larvae, which can enter the bloodstream and eventually make their way to places like muscles or other organs.

Here they are killed by the body’s immune system and form hard cysts.

When the cysts reach the brain, headaches and even seizures are common, as are confusion, dizziness and a potentially fatal condition called hydrocephalus, in which there is excess fluid in the brain.

In these cases, surgery is often necessary to remove the cyst.

Cysts can also cause problems if they reach the eye, leading to blurred or blurry vision and possibly infection.

The cysts themselves may form months or years after the initial infection with tapeworm eggs.

The tapeworm that can cause cysticercosis is a species called Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm.

How many people are affected

The World Health Organization estimates that in some parts of the world, 70% of epilepsy cases are caused by cysts of the larvae of the tapeworm Taenia solium that develop in the brain.

Around 2.5 million people are believed to be infected with Taenia solium each year, most commonly in poor areas of Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.

“The prognosis for cysticercosis is generally good, but unfortunately, some cases are fatal. It is estimated that 50 million people are infected worldwide each year, resulting in approximately 50,000 deaths. So the moral of the story is to try to stay clean, wash your hands often, and never eat raw or undercooked pork.” Dr. Galli also wrote.

While the scans Dr. Galli showed were typical, in some cases patients had hundreds of tapeworm cysts in their bodies.

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