Hot Pot Meat May Have Caused A Man To Be Infected With Tapeworms
The man suffered a month-long headache and dizziness before he was treated.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 29 Nov 2019, 11:25 AM
A 46-year-old contract worker in China, who suffered multiple occurrences of seizure, was found to have tapeworms on his brain
According to The Washington Post, the tapeworms may have entered the man's brain after he ate hot pot about a month ago.
The man, who comes from Quzhou eastern Zhejiang province and is known only by his pseudonym Zhu, suffered a month-long headache and dizziness.
When trying to sleep at night, Zhu also suffered epilepsy-like symptoms — such as limb twitching and foaming at the mouth.
Zhu was rushed to a hospital when his colleagues witnessed one of his episodes one day
He was subjected to scans and doctors found that he was suffering from abnormal deposits of calcium in blood vessels to the brain - a condition called intracranial calcifications - as well as intracranial lesions.
When the medical staff wanted to examine further, Zhu refused to comply because he did not wish to spend any more money. He returned home despite still being sick.
His condition did not get better as he continued suffering seizures
He was then admitted to Zhejiang University Hospital, where doctors performed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
Following which, the man was diagnosed with neurocysticercosis — tapeworms in the brain, according to a CNN report.
Intracranial CT shows multiple white spots.
Image via First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University/WeixinFirst Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University wrote a paper on Zhu's plight, attributing eating uncooked meat in a hot pot to the cause of having tapeworms on his brain
The paper reported that Zhu had consumed hot pot lately and when pressed by doctors, he related that the meat he ate might have been undercooked.
"I only simmered the meat a little," the paper quoted Zhu as saying.
"The bottom of the pot with the spicy broth was red, so you couldn't see if the meat had been cooked thoroughly."
He also related that he went to sleep after eating hot pot that night
Zhu said it was his payday that day, which led him to spend money buying mutton, pork, and some wine to reward himself.
Image for illustration purposes only.
Image via First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University/WeixinBased on his account, the hospital's chief physician then speculated that the pork and mutton Zhu had may have been infested with tapeworm eggs.
He has since recovered from his ordeal after doctors extracted the tapeworms.
