A new case has shocked the world reporting a 25 years old Australian woman carrying tapeworm larvae in the brain. This woman was taken to the hospital after a persistent headache that lasted for more than a week with no other symptoms of any disease. The diagnosis was completed on the basis of her MRI showing a cyst in the brain carrying these larvae.
The complete case report is published in the journal The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Reportedly, the headaches were triggered by the larvae which made all the way to her brain. This woman has no history of overseas traveling and is the first-ever case of this type in entire Australia without a traveling history.
Other similar cases in Australia shared a common travel history to the areas in Africa, Asia, and Latin America where such diseases are common. This woman has suffered from immense headaches for many years which only occurred a couple of times every month. she was taking migraine medicine which somehow made this pain go away. But when her last pain occurred it lasted for more than a week and was ineffective with her regular medicines. This time this pain attack was worst causing her blurry sight which made her panic, suspecting that there is something wrong.
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After taken to the nearby hospital, doctors immediately suggested her MRI. And this MRI scan showed a tumor in her brain giving the impression that this tumor is causing her pain. however, when they operated her to remove this tumor from her brain, the found that this cyst was filled with tapeworm larvae that were living in her brain and causing her severe headache. After removing the cyst, the doctors believe she doesn’t need any more treatment and will be perfectly healthy in a few weeks.
Tapeworm larvae in the brain define a medical condition called neurocysticercosis. A person diagnosed with this condition can experience various neurological complications once the cysts filled with larvae start to grow inside the brain.
This is a parasitic infection that hits a person if they consume the parasitic eggs. These eggs are commonly found in a person with intestinal tapeworms, confirms the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In most cases, this condition remains largely unidentified and it makes neurocysticercosis fatal. CDC confirms neurocysticercosis to be one of the biggest causes of epilepsy in adults in almost all parts of the world.
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Tapeworms are common human parasites, once they enter into the body, they reside in the intestine and induce a disease called taeniasis. For most people, they are removed on their own with no need for medicines. But for others, it may cause complications. Health experts blame uncooked meat especially pork with giving tapeworms to a person. Pigs are the biggest host of the tapeworms. In addition to meat, these worms can also be found in soil and water. A person who eats this meat or any food contaminated with tapeworms eggs in water and soil can develop this condition.
In this case, this infected woman was a barista who has apparently no risk of getting the tapeworm. But show how she swallowed the eggs which made it to her brain instead of intestines and developed larvae.
