Jan 24, 2020
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man knew something was wrong when he fainted in the middle of a soccer game last year.
He’d been dealing with awful headaches and “feeling off” but his tumble during soccer prompted him to check it out.
An MRI revealed the concerning surprise culprit — a tapeworm in his brain.
He was shocked, naturally.
Surgery was the next step and Dr. Jordan Amadio, neurosurgeon at Ascension Seton, said the man’s case was “rare and truly extraordinary.”
After a complex surgery, the patient no longer has headaches and is back to work and feel normal.
While the patient — whose name hasn’t been released — doesn’t know where the tapeworm may have been contracted, he says he thinks it may have been the result of eating pork in Mexico … Read more.
MORE FROM THE CDC:
Taeniasis in humans is a parasitic infection caused by the tapeworm species Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm), Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), and Taenia asiatica (Asian tapeworm).
Humans can become infected with these tapeworms by eating raw or undercooked beef (T. saginata) or pork (T. solium and T. asiatica).
People with taeniasis may not know they have a tapeworm infection because symptoms are usually mild or nonexistent.
Taenia solium tapeworm infections can lead to cysticercosis, which is a disease that can cause seizures, so it is important seek treatment.
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Alien Parasites Keep Showing Up In U.S.
