In a bizarre incident, a US doctor took to the social platform, X (erstwhile Twitter) and shared the most disturbing CT scan of a patient who was hospitalised after eating undercooked pork.
According to the CT scan, there was a serious parasite infection in the patient’s legs. The scan was posted by Dr Sam Ghali, an emergency physician with the University of Florida Health Jacksonville and he challenged his followers to identify the diagnosis.
Dr Ghali eventually stated that the patient was diagnosed with cysticercosis, a tapeworm infestation. The infection is caused ingestion of eggs shed in the feces of a human tapeworm carrier. These eggs are immediately infectious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This case highlights the importance of properly cooking pork to avoid such an infection risk. Cysticercosis is a parasitic infection caused by the ingestion of larval cysts of Taenia Solium, also known as Pork Tapeworm.
Dr. Ghali also explained in the thread about the dangerous parasitic infection, cysticercosis.
“So humans become infected with T Solium by ingesting cysts that can be found in undercooked pork. After several weeks (usually around 5-12) these cysts evolve within the gastrointestinal tract into mature adult tapeworms. This condition is known as Intestinal Taeniasis,” Dr Ghali explained.
He also wrote that these adult tapeworms then shed eggs which are in turn excreted into human feces.
“It’s very important to note that it is only when these eggs are ingested via fecal-oral transmission, that one can develop the clinical syndrome known as of Cysticercosis,” he further said.