He needed an ambulance.
A 52-year-old Florida man who thought he was suffering from severe migraines was actually battling a strange tapeworm infestation in his brain caused by eating undercooked bacon. .
The anonymous patient, whose medically harrowing story recently appeared in the American Journal of Case Reports, had been complaining of severe headaches for one week over four months after ingesting a nasty pork product.
Experts believe that the man’s “lifelong preference for soft bacon” was not the sole cause of this bizarre illness, but rather that the breakfast favorite had gone bad and was undercooked, causing the man to become extremely ill. He said that they may have become vulnerable to this.
The perfect storm of circumstances led to cases of neurocysticercosis (a scientific term referring to a parasite that lays eggs that infect many areas of the body).
What’s even worse is that neurocysticercosis can be contagious.
“Historically, encountering infected pork in the U.S. is highly unusual, and in our case
“This may have implications for public health,” the researchers wrote.
According to the CDC, if an affected person does not wash their hands thoroughly after defecating, they can spread the eggs to other members of the household, especially through food.
CDC says Although this unusual disease is “preventable,” it still hospitalizations about 1,000 unlucky Americans each year.
In this case, the patient developed cysts on both sides of the brain along with swelling. It was later determined that this was a tapeworm that had laid eggs in the man’s brain.
He was treated with the anthelmintic drug albendazole, and his symptoms improved after two weeks.
With seizures occurring in 4 out of 5 cases, clinicians are cautioned to “have a high index of suspicion and obtain a detailed medical history in patients with altered migraine patterns.”
