Teenager dies from tapeworm egg infestation in his brain

[David48atTD]

An 18-year-old man in Faridabad, India was taken to an emergency department because he was suffering seizures but it wasn't until he had an MRI that doctors found "numerous well-defined cystic lesions" in his brain.

Key points:

• The teen's parents said he had suffered pain in his groin for a week
• He also had swelling over his right eye
• The infection can come from consuming undercooked food, particularly pork, contaminated water, or through poor hygiene

The cystic lesions, doctors said, were consistent with neurocysticercosis, a tapeworm infection of the central nervous system.

The infection comes from larvae built up in the central nervous system, muscles, skin and eyes.



The pork tapeworm Taenia solium


The World Health Organisation (WHO) says humans can become infected after consuming undercooked food, "particularly pork, or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs, or through poor hygiene practices."

If left untreated the tapeworm can survive in the body for many years.

Link

[nidhogg]

Very unlikely to have been undercooked pork i would have thought.