Tapeworm found in brain of man who ate undercooked bacon

A man suffering from worsening headaches was found to have parasites in his brain, likely linked to eating undercooked bacon, according to a recent study.

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Parasitic tapeworm larvae were found in the man’s brain following weeks of worsening migraines, according to a report published last week in the American Journal of Case Reports.

The 52-year-old man was experiencing weekly migraines that were unresponsive to medication, according to the report, and he denied having traveled to “high-risk areas.” He also said that he “lived at home with his wife and cat in a modern home.”

The man told doctors that he has a preference for “lightly cooked, non-crispy bacon,” something he said he had eaten for most of his life.

The man was given a CT scan, where doctors found cysts in his brain. Doctors said there was no tumor and he was suffering from hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluids in brain cavities.

Eventually, the man tested positive for cysticercosis cyst antibodies. He was then diagnosed with neurocysticercosis, a parasitic infection caused by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.

“It can only be speculated, but given our patient’s predilection for undercooked pork and benign exposure history, we favor that his cysticercosis was transmitted via autoinfection after improper handwashing after he had contracted taeniasis himself from his eating habits,” researchers said.

After the diagnosis, the man was successfully treated with anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic medication.

The parasitic infection happened when the man ate microscopic eggs of tapeworm, according to researchers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that if a person eats undercooked, infected pork and gets a tapeworm infection in the intestines, the person passes the eggs in their feces.

If the person does not wash his hands after using the bathroom, he may contaminate food or surfaces with feces that contain the eggs. These eggs may then be ingested by someone else if they consume contaminated food.

Once the eggs make their way into the body, they hatch and become larvae, which sometimes then lodge themselves in the brain.

The CDC says symptoms of the disease include epilepsy, headache, dizziness and stroke.

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