Pork and ham are popular dishes for the holidays. But if you don’t cook them properly, you could end up with hundreds of worms calling your digestive tract home.
46-year-old Zhu Zhongfa ate undercooked pork and unknowingly ingested the eggs of the dangerous parasite Taenia solium. As a result, his life was turned upside down as he started experiencing seizures and fainting episodes for weeks, eventually leading him to seek medical treatment for his mysterious condition.
Despite only a month passing since he consumed the undercooked pork, doctors quickly identified the cause of Zhongfa’s seizures and fainting episodes. His body was utterly infected with tapeworms. These unwelcome guests had made themselves at home in his brain, lungs, and other parts of his body. The worm larvae had spread throughout his body via his bloodstream.
Doctors are confident that the tapeworm infestation is directly related to the undercooked pork Zhongfa consumed that fateful night. Although he didn’t think much of it at the time, the seizures and fainting episodes prevented him from going to work. His occupation in construction required him to operate heavy machinery, and his condition made it impossible for him to do so. The pork tapeworm infestation had completely disrupted his life and caused him immense suffering.
Despite experiencing weeks of seizures, Zhongfa only sought medical help when his condition became unbearable. When he was admitted to the hospital, he was foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.
The larvae entered Zhongfa’s body through his digestive system and traveled through his bloodstream to his brain and lungs. These baby worms squirmed into his body tissue and formed cysts. If these cysts decay, they can cause infections. People with this same problem as Zhongfa often report headaches, seizures, blindness, and dementia. However, these symptoms don’t always appear immediately. Sometimes it can take years for the worm larvae to reach the brain and lungs.
When these larvae form cysts near the brain or nervous system, it can result in a dangerous infection called cysticercosis. In the case of Zhongfa, the larvae had caused numerous space-occupying lesions in his brain, as well as cysts in his lungs and chest muscles.
Zhongfa admitted that he consumed a dish about a month ago that he did not believe was fully cooked. Due to his seizures and fainting spells, he finally sought medical attention.
Dr. Huang Jianrong from the Affiliated Hospital of Zhenjiang University School of Medicine was concerned about Zhongfa’s condition. That’s why he ordered brain and chest MRIs for the patient.
“He not only had numerous 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 are. In this case, he experienced seizures and lost consciousness, but others with cysts in their lungs might experience a lot of coughing.”