The dangers of eating undercooked pork have been revealed by a terrifying body scan that revealed the parasites that can infect the body via contaminated meat.
Dr. Sam Ghali, an emergency physician at the University of Florida, shared a photo on social media of a patient with telltale symptoms of a parasitic infection called cysticercosis.
Cysticercosis occurs when the larvae of a tapeworm species invade tissues such as muscle or even the brain.
They form a hard calcified cyst that feels like bumps under the skin and shows up on medical scans as white, oval ‘grain of rice’ nodules.
Although unpleasant, they are generally harmless — as the larvae do not survive outside the intestine. However, the cysts can cause problems if they develop in the brain.
Dr. Sam Ghali, an American healthcare worker, shared a photo of an anonymous patient with clear signs of a parasitic infection called cysticercosis
The tapeworm responsible for the infection enters the human body by eating the eggs of the tapeworm.
These eggs can be found in undercooked pork and can develop into adult tapeworms in the intestines of humans. However, this does not directly lead to cysticercosis.
Cysticercosis occurs when infected individuals pass tapeworm eggs to others in their feces.
Dr. Ghali wrote in his article on X: ‘It is very important to note that only when these eggs are ingested via fecal-oral transmission can the clinical syndrome of cysticercosis develop.’
The virus is mainly transmitted by infected people not washing their hands properly after using the toilet. However, the eggs can also be transmitted via water contaminated with feces.
The species of tapeworm responsible for this is called Taenia solium (pictured) and can infect humans through contaminated feces and pork products
When the eggs are ingested in this way, larvae are released which can enter the bloodstream, for example into muscles or other organs.
There they are killed by the body’s immune system and hard cysts form.
Headaches and even seizures are common if the cysts invade the brain, as are confusion, dizziness and a potentially fatal condition called hydrocephalus, an excess of fluid in the brain.
In these cases, surgery is usually necessary to remove the cysts.
Cysts can also cause problems if they reach the eyes, causing blurred or disturbed vision and possibly leading to infection.
The cysts themselves may not develop until months or years after the initial infection with the tapeworm eggs.
The tapeworm that can cause cysticercosis is a species called Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm.
The World Health Organization estimates that Taenia solium larval cysts that develop in the brain are responsible for as many as 70 percent of epilepsy cases in some parts of the world.
In the past, even more extraordinary infections have been recorded, here is an example of a patient from Brazil
It is thought that approximately 2.5 million people are infected with Taenia solium each year, mainly in the poorer regions of Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.
Dr Ghali added: ‘The prognosis for cysticercosis is generally good, but unfortunately some cases are fatal. It is estimated that approximately 50 million people worldwide become infected each year, resulting in ~50,000 deaths.
“So the moral of the story is: do your best to stay clean, always wash your hands and never, ever eat raw or undercooked pork.”
Although the scan Dr. Ghali shared is standard, there have been cases of patients with hundreds of tapeworm cysts in their bodies.
One such case is the shocking one reported in Brazil last year.