Health
Man suffering from migraines found to have tapeworms in brain after consuming partially cooked bacon: study
A man suffering from severe migraines, obesity and complicated type-2 diabetes was found to have parasitic tapeworm larvae in his brain, which was the result of eating partially cooked bacon, according to a report published by the American Journal of Case Reports last week.
The 52-year-old man had a medical history of chronic migraines, type-2 diabetes mellitus which was complicated by peripheral neuropathy, hyperlipidemia and obesity.
The study noted that the man told doctors his migraines occurred almost weekly and were not responsive to medication. He also said he did not travel to high-risk areas, lived at home with his wife and cat, and preferred lightly cooked, non-crispy bacon, which he admitted having eaten most of his life.
The man underwent numerous tests, including a CT scan, which uncovered multiple cysts in his brain. But there was no evidence of hydrocephalus, or buildup of fluid.
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An illustration of a tapeworm (Credit: iStock)
Doctors also conducted an MRI which demonstrated the same findings as the CT, but also noted there was concern about neurocysticercosis.
“Cysticercosis is a condition caused by infection with the larval form of Taenia Solium, a pork tapeworm that uses pigs as an intermediate host,” the study read. “Humans become infected when they ingest water or food contaminated with tapeworm cysts.”
The man underwent more tests to find out more on a correlation between the migraines and Cysticercosis, involving blood and urine cultures and HIV antibodies, though all came back nonreactive.
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But when the Cysticercosis lgG Cysts antibody came back with a positive result, doctors were able to confirm the suspicion of neurocysticercosis.
Researchers said the man’s “preference for soft bacon” could have led to him developing an intestinal tapeworm.
They then put him under a regime of medications, and after 14 days, he was determined to be successfully treated.
Researchers said the man’s “lifelong preference for soft bacon” could have led to him developing an intestinal tapeworm and not cysticercosis.
“Taeniasis occurs when consuming undercooked pork and the larval cysts embedded within, while cysticercosis is contracted when humans ingest eggs found in the feces of other humans with taeniasis,” researchers wrote.
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“It can only be speculated, but given our patient’s predilection for undercooked pork and benign exposure history, we favor that his cysticercosis was transmitted via autoinfection after improper handwashing after he had contracted taeniasis himself from his eating habits.”
A man who consumed partially cooked bacon was found to have tapeworm larvae in his brain, causing him to suffer from severe migraines. (Steve Doocy)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that if a person consumes undercooked and infected pork, then gets tapeworm infection in the intestines, that person will pass the eggs in their feces.
Cysticercosis typically occurs in low-income countries, the CDC noted, though people who have never traveled outside the U.S. could still contract it.
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“A person infected with a tapeworm who does not wash his or her hands might accidentally contaminate food with tapeworm eggs while preparing it for others,” the CDC said.
After entering the body, the eggs hatch and the larvae sometimes attach to the brain.
Symptoms of cysticercosis include headache, epilepsy, dizziness and stroke.
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High levels of E. coli were found in uncooked meats and raw dog food sold in grocery stores in the U.K., according to research presented last week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona.
Researchers from the University of Bristol examined 58 samples of raw beef, chicken, pork and lamb sold at grocery stores in the U.K., along with 15 samples of raw dog food sold at “specialty pet stores,” according to a press release.
Eighty-one percent of the meat samples and 87% of the dog food samples were found to contain E. coli (Escherichia coli) that was resistant to antibiotics.
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The raw chicken had the highest levels of the resistant intestinal bacteria.
“E. coli is an intestinal bacteria that may propagate in cows and chickens used for meat, especially when they are raised in squalor or close together,” Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital.
High levels of E. coli were found in uncooked meats and raw dog food sold in grocery stores, according to research presented last week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona. (iStock)
“Since poultry and meat cows are often fed antibiotics to help them grow and to ward off infections, this helps to breed resistant strains, which emerge amid antibiotic overuse.”
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Siegel was not involved in the study.
“This study confirms that uncooked meat carries multiple resistant E. coli, commonly including resistance to critically important antibiotics important for human health,” the study authors said in a press release from ESCMID.
“E. coli is an intestinal bacteria that may propagate in cows and chickens used for meat, especially when they are raised in squalor or close together.” (iStock)
If ingested, the bacteria could colonize the intestines and cause resistant infections, according to study author Matthew B. Avison, a professor at the School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol.
“They can sit in your gut for years without causing sickness, and in some cases the bacteria will cause different types of disease later on, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections that can kill,” Avison told Fox News Digital.
“Infections with resistant bacteria are more difficult to treat and so are more likely to get worse.”
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Uncooked meat sold to be eaten by people after cooking is “commonly contaminated” with antibiotic-resistant E. coli, Avison noted.
The study results weren’t surprising, he said, as there have been “numerous reports” of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in uncooked meat and some studies showing this in raw dog food.
“In some cases, the bacteria will cause different types of disease later on, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections.”
“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, the freezing kills the bacteria, but we have shown that it does not,” Avison told Fox News Digital.
“There were just as many samples of chicken-based raw dog food contaminated with resistant E. coli than there were samples of raw chicken meat. If you feed your dog raw meat, therefore, you are likely feeding it antibiotic resistant E. coli.”
These findings explain why researchers previously found a strong link between feeding dogs raw meat and the dogs excreting resistant E. coli in their feces, Avison noted.
“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, that freezing kills the bacteria on it, but we have shown that it does not,” a researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Most people are not aware of the risk of these antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the researchers stated in the release.
They emphasized the importance of cooking meat thoroughly before eating, and using “appropriate hygiene practices” while preparing it.
“Cooking the meat properly will kill those bacteria,” Avison advised.
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“Treat all raw meat as if it were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and assume dogs fed raw meat will be excreting resistant bacteria,” he went on.
“Use appropriate hand-washing and general hygiene practices to minimize the risk that you and other people will accidentally ingest these bacteria.”
“If you feed your dog raw meat, you are likely feeding it antibiotic resistant E. coli.”
Dog owners who feed raw meat to their pets should dispose of the animals’ waste hygienically, Avison said.
“Don’t let your dog lick your face or share your bed, and wash your hands after petting it,” he recommended. “These are all common sense practices anyway, but even more important if you raw-feed your dog.”
Researchers emphasized the importance of cooking meat thoroughly before eating, and using “appropriate hygiene practices” while preparing it. (iStock)
“And, of course, treat raw dog food as if it were any raw meat, in terms of hygiene and cleaning practices.”
The study raises a “red flag,” Siegel said, underscoring the importance of making sure that poultry and meat is fully cooked prior to human consumption, and that dog food is also cooked.
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Andre Delattre, chief operating officer of Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) in Washington, D.C., said the study “underscores the importance of ending the practice of routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.”
“Use appropriate hand-washing and general hygiene practices to minimize the risk that you and other people will accidentally ingest these bacteria,” researchers said. (iStock)
“An inevitable byproduct of antibiotic overuse is resistance to these drugs,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Studies have also shown that meat raised without antibiotics is less likely to be contaminated with resistant bacteria.”
The University of Bristol study was published on a pre-print server and has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for comment.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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Derek McFadden, pictured at left with his mom Robin McFadden, was 23 when he took his own life on Aug, 17, 2018, in Tucson, Arizona. (Robin McFadden)
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