Tapeworm larvae found in brain of Florida man who ate bacon

A man from the state of Florida hadtapeworm larvae in the brain for eating undercooked pork bacon, according to research by a team of doctors.

MagazineAmerican Journal of Case Reports published the case of an unidentified person, 52 years old and male, who suffered from a migraine that did not improve with medication.

The patient went to the doctor because his condition was worsening after four months of headaches.

He suffered from this condition almost weekly and did not improve with treatment, the report detailed.

The man explained that he had not traveled to "high-risk areas for food security and that he lived in a modern house in good sanitary conditions with his wife and cat," according to the publication.

However, he said that among his habits was the consumption of "bacon lightly done and not at all crispy", a practice he had carried out throughout his life.

The doctors concluded that the patient had developedneurocysticercosis due to autoinfection.

On a CT scan, multiple tapeworm cysts were found in the brain.

The man was admitted to an Orlando hospital to consult with neurosurgery, on suspicion that he could suffer from adisease strange neurological disorder calledcongenital neuroglial cysts.

After the patient was treated with steroids and antiparasitic agents, the headaches improved and the brain cysts shrank, according to the report published in the medical journal.

A publication from the federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that cysticercosis is an infection caused by the larval stages of Taenia solium, after a person ingests its eggs.

The larvae attach to tissues such as muscles and the brain, forming cysticerci (cysts), and when cysticercosis is located in the brain, the infection is called neurocysticercosis, says the CDC.

Cooking meat at high temperatures is a sure way to avoid getting intestinal tapeworms. And cysticercosis can be prevented by washing your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom and before handling food.

In 2023, a man died in Charlotte County, Florida.after becoming infected with the rare flesh-eating bacteria Naegleria fowleri, popularly known as "brain-eating amoeba".

The health authorities indicated in a statement that the deceased suffered an infection by this parasite "possibly as a result of practices of rinsing the paranasal sinuses with tap water," although the investigation remains open.

Another case reported in Florida of rare disease, is about a teenager from Tennessee who contracted a parasite that is very difficult to cure, after visiting a beach in the state.

During a school trip, the boy walked barefoot for a long time with other classmates. As a result, four people were infected by the parasite called helminths.