The dangers of eating undercooked pork have been revealed by a horrifying body scan that shows parasites that can infect the body through contaminated meat.
Dr. Sam Ghali, an emergency room physician at the University of Florida, took to social media to share an image of a patient showing telltale signs of a parasitic infection called cysticercosis.
Cysticercosis occurs when the larvae of a tapeworm species enter tissues such as muscle or even the brain.
They form a hard, calcified cyst that can look like bumps under the skin and light up as white, oval, “rice-like” nodules on medical scans.
Although unpleasant, these cysts are usually harmless, as the larvae do not survive outside the intestine. However, cysts can cause problems if they develop in the brain.
Dr. Sam Ghali, an American emergency room physician, shared a photo of an anonymous patient showing telltale signs of a parasitic infection called cysticercosis
The tapeworm responsible for the infection enters the human body through the consumption of its eggs.
These eggs can be found in undercooked pork and can develop into adult tapeworms in people’s intestines, but this does not directly lead to cysticercosis.
Cysticercosis occurs instead when infected people pass tapeworm eggs to other people through their stool.
In an article on X, Dr. Ghali said: “It is very important to note that it is only when these eggs are ingested through fecal-oral transmission that one can develop the clinical syndrome known as cysticercosis.”
This transmission occurs mainly when infected people do not wash their hands properly after using the toilet, although eggs can also be transmitted through water contaminated with faeces.
The tapeworm species responsible is called Taenia solium (pictured) and can infect people through contaminated feces and pork products.
Once ingested in this way, the eggs release larvae that can pass into the bloodstream and end up in places like muscles or other organs.
Here they are killed by the body’s immune system and form hard cysts.
Headaches and even seizures are common when cysts enter the brain, along with 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 potentially triggering infection.
The cysts themselves may not develop until months or years after the initial infection with 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 70% of epilepsy cases in some parts of the world.
Even more extraordinary infections have been recorded in the past, here is an example from a patient in Brazil
It is estimated that about 2.5 million people are infected with Taenia solium each year, most commonly in 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 around 50 million people worldwide are infected each year, resulting in around 50,000 deaths.
“So the moral of the story is to do your best to stay clean, always wash your hands, and never, ever eat raw or undercooked pork.”
Although the analysis shared by Dr. Ghali is typical, cases where patients have hundreds of tapeworm cysts in their body have been recorded.
Among these shocking cases is the one reported in Brazil last year.
