Millions of people consume the same food every day, which isn’t exactly great for their health. Many people have a daily diet based on the same type of meat such as beef or pork, which can cause a lot of problems if not prepared properly.
These types of meat often contain a dangerous worm which can damage your health – once inside your body, these worms enter your organs and tissues including your brain, which can have a fatal outcome.
Recently, one patient came to the Addenbookes Hospital in Cambridge complaining on painful headaches. He was put on medications, but came back after a few months complaining that the therapy didn’t help. He was sent for a CT scan, and when the results came out, doctors couldn’t believe their eyes! The man had worms in his brain and was diagnosed with sparganosis, a dangerous worm infection which could have killed him if not treated on time.
The man said that he recently visited Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand and China, which have the most reported cases of sparganosis. The infection is caused by the SpirometraErinaceieuropaei parasite, and causes symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and seizures. After the diagnosis, the doctors were luckily able to remove the parasites from the man’s body and he has recovered fully.
Besides sparganosis, there’s another infection called thaeniasis caused by tapeworms living in beef and pork. You could get infected by either of these infections by eating raw or undercooked beef and pork, which is probably how the patient that came to the Camrbidge hospital infected himself. In order to avoid further health complications caused by the parasites, always cook your meat thoroughly and wash your hands before eating.
