An American doctor has recently shared an image of the CT scan of a person who was suffering from a severe parasitic infection caused by eating undercooked pork.
Dr Sam Ghali, an emergency physician with the University of Florida Health Jacksonville, shared the image of the CT scan of the limbs of the patient suffering from "infamous parasitic infection" caused by the ingestion of the larval cysts of Pork Tapeworm, whose scientific name is Taenia Solium.
Dr Ghali regularly shares medical case studies on his X account.
"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.
"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 Cysticercosis," he further wrote.
In certain people, the larvae can end up travelling to the brain and form cysts in the brain tissue, leading to headaches, confusion, seizures, and other serious neurologic problems, Dr Ghali further explained.
The troubling CT scan shows tiny, rice grain-like particles all around the bones in the patient's limb.
“So the moral of the story here is do your best to keep clean, always wash your hands, and never, ever eat raw or undercooked pork,” Dr Sam Ghali said.
