Bacon was to blame

US doctors find tapeworm in brain after “migraine”

A tapeworm in a human intestine - when such an animal settles in the brain, it is even more unpleasant.

(Bild: Juan Gärtner, stock.adobe.com)

A man from Florida went to the doctor because he was constantly suffering from severe migraines - doctors eventually found parasites in his head. Tapeworm eggs were found in the 52-year-old's brain. He is said to have contracted the unpleasant roommates while eating bacon.

The man had been suffering from chronic headaches for months and then had a check-up. Examinations revealed several cysts in both hemispheres of the brain as well as swelling. The gruesome cause: a pork tapeworm had laid eggs in his brain, which irritated the tissue under his skull. 

The cysts and swellings in the brain are shown in this article:

Bacon may not have been cooked well enough before consumption
The doctors suspect that he contracted the parasite by eating undercooked bacon. The patient had reported that he had a "preference for soft bacon". A tapeworm can be transmitted by swallowing its microscopic eggs, which come from the feces of an infected person or animal. However, infections tend to occur in developing countries where hygiene conditions are poor. 

Doctors report an extremely unusual case
"Historically, it is very unusual to encounter infected pork in the United States, and our case could have public health implications," the treating physicians wrote in a report in the American Journal of Case Reports. 

The patient was eventually treated in intensive care and given medication for the swelling in his brain. He was also given a drug to treat the worm infection. The patient's cysts and migraines disappeared after this treatment.