Doctors find tapeworm in patient's brain from eating undercooked bacon

09 March 2024 , 08:15

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A man was found to have been suffering from a parasite in his brain

A man who visited doctors after suffering from constant migraines was found to have a worm in his brain after eating undercooked bacon.

The unnamed 52-year-old, from Orlando, visited his GP after complaining of frequent pain over the last four months and admitting his medications were no longer working, according to a report from the American Journal of Case Reports.

The man was suffering from aggressive migraines and was sent for a scan which showed multiple cysts in both hemispheres of his brain, which was later revealed the result of a pork tapeworm that had laid eggs in his brain and was irritating the tissue under his skull.

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The tapeworm in his brain was from eating undercooked bacon

According to the patient, he had a "preference for soft bacon" which is believed to be the reason he contracted the illness after eating the undercooked pork product.

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The man told doctors his normal medications were no longer working and were occurring almost every week. In addition, he said he had not travelled outside of the county recently or eaten any raw foods - but did say he preferred non-crispy bacon.

CT and MRI scans showed the 52-year-old had multiple cysts on both sides of his brain and he was diagnosed with the parasitic infection neurocysticercosis.

It is when larval cysts - enclosed sacs containing the immature stage of a parasite - of the pork tapeworm infect various parts of the body and cause inflammation.

Doctors believe the parasite entered his body after he consumed the undercooked bacon, and travelled from the intestine to the brain through the bloodstream.

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The man said he liked soft bacon

"Our patient’s lifelong preference for soft bacon may have led to instances of undercooked bacon consumption,'"the medics wrote.

According to The National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are between 1,320 and 5,050 cases of neurocysticercosis each year in the US. It is rare in people from developing countries such as the US or UK.

It can be caught by swallowing microscopic eggs passed from the feces of someone who has an intestinal pork tapeworm. “It is historically very unusual to encounter infected pork in the United States, and our case may have public health implications,” researchers wrote.

The patient was taken to the intensive care unit and given the corticosteroid dexamethasone four times a day to reduce the swelling in his brain, which led to improvements after two weeks. He was also given albendazole and praziquantel for two weeks, which are used to treat worm infections. The patient's cysts went away, and his migraines improved.

Medics who treated the patient also noted that seizures occur in about 80 percent of patients with the condition.

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