Doctors in China were shocked after more than 700 tapeworms were found in a man’s body, including his brain and lungs.
The patient, identified as 43-year-old Zhu Zhongfa, ingested the eggs of the parasite Taenia solium – better known as the pork tapeworm – from his dinner.
At first, Zhongfa didn’t think much of it, but after several weeks he decided to go to a doctor. When he went to the hospital, he was foaming from the mouth and lost consciousness.
His local doctor was unable to determine why he was having seizures, and he was referred to the First Affiliated Hospital of the College of Medicine at Zhejiang University.
Doctors at the hospital were able to diagnose the problem and began treating Zhongfa for the infection of worms.
Tapeworm eggs can be found in the feces of infected animals and can be spread to humans if infected meat is not washed or cooked correctly. The microscopic eggs can be killed by heating the meat to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit or by freezing it all the way through.
If the eggs are ingested, they will hatch and the tapeworms will migrate throughout the body, where they can grow to be up 26 feet long. The larvae develop protective cysts around themselves, which remain once the parasites outgrow them. Medication can be used to kill the worms, but there is nothing that can be done about the cysts, which can cause infections and permanent damage as they decay.
Dr. Huang Jianrong from the Affiliated Hospital of Zhenjiang University School of Medicine did not like what he saw in the patient. That’s why he ordered brain and chest MRIs for this patient.
“He not only had numerous space-occupying lesions in his brain, but he also had cysts in his lungs and chest muscles,” Dr. Huang said. “Different patients respond differently to the infection, depending on where the parasites occupy. In this case, he had seizures and lost consciousness, but others with cysts in their lungs might cough a lot.”
Doctors said that Zhongfa is responding well to the treatment, but cautioned that there could be long-term side effects.
Source: AWM
