Man who complained of persistent headaches had worm eggs living in his brain

Brain scans showing the worm eggs in the man’s brain (Picture: Emily Joshu)

A man in Florida suffering from persistent migraines was told he had tapeworm eggs in his brain.

The 52-year-old patient sought medical help after his chronic migraines became more frequent and the medications he used for them no longer worked.

Scans revealed multiple cysts on both sides of his brain that turned out to be pork tapeworm eggs.

The eggs were causing swelling under his skull, which in turn was leading to the regular migraines, according to a report written by his doctors that was published in the American Journal of Case Reports.

It’s thought the eggs were the result of eating infected undercooked bacon, as the man told medics he often ate ‘soft bacon’, preferring it to the crispy version.

Microscopic eggs could have entered his intestine, leading to a tapeworm developing and laying eggs that ended up in his faeces.

The man’s doctors suspect that through ‘improper handwashing’ these eggs re-entered his body and traveled through the bloodstream to his brain, the report said.

It’s thought the man ate infected undercooked bacon (Picture: Shutterstock/Andrey Starostin)

When pork tapeworm parasites enter the brain it’s called neurocysticercosis (NCC), they wrote in the report.

But they said it was very unusual to encounter infected pork in the United States and far more common in rural areas in developing countries where pigs roam freely and eat human faeces.

They added: ‘Our case may have public health implications.’

Doctors advised patients who see a change in their migraines should undergo further testing to rule out a tape worm infection.

Seizures tend to occur in 80 per cent of patients with NCC, and that symptoms can start months or years after infection, often when the cysts start dying.

The man, who lives in Orlando and had not been abroad recently, was admitted to hospital and treated with corticosteroid dexamethasone four times a day to reduce the swelling in his brain, said the report.

Tapeworms from infected pork is rare in the developed world (Picture: Wikimedia)

He was also given albendazole and praziquantel for two weeks, which are used to treat worm infections.

His cysts disappeared and his migraines improved.  

In 2022, doctors in Australia were were stunned to find a live worm in the brain of a woman who went to the hospital complaining of forgetfulness, depression and abdominal pain.

Th 64-year-old, who had previously also complained of abdominal pain and night sweats, eventually had brain surgery due to abnormalities showing up in a CT scan.

It was then doctors discovered the eight-centimetre-long roundworm.

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