
Hidden Epidemic: Tapeworms Living Inside People's Brains - llambda
http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jun/03-hidden-epidemic-tapeworms-in-the-brain
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antr
I read a very similar article not that long ago, and forwarded it to my dad
who is a surgeon. He said that tapeworms are very common in developing
nations, specially Asia and South America. In "99.9%" of the cases the eggs
are digested or the cyst shows up in an organ causing relatively low damage
with "easy" extraction possible. Unfortunately, some of those eggs/worms can
find their way into the head.

His advice was to cook all meats (be it pork, steak, etc.) well, and to avoid
eating raw/uncooked meat. Apparently it reduces the chances of eating a living
egg. No more medium-rare burgers for me since then.

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OstiaAntica
This pathology is NOT caught from eating pork. It can come from any food
prepared by someone atypically shedding eggs (most likely someone from Latin
America.) In fact you are more likely to get it from eating raw salad than
cooked pork.

"But sometimes tapeworms take a wrong turn. Instead of going into a pig, the
eggs end up in a human. This can occur if someone shedding tapeworm eggs
contaminates food that other people then eat."

~~~
ufo
I find it interesting that, while we learn all of this in school here in
Brazil people in developing countries have no idea about parasites. (but dont
single out latinamerica - tapeworms are endemic in most of the developing
world)

Anyway, if you are interested, it is also possible to get other types of
tapeworm from other kinds of uncooked meat (like raw beef or sushi), although
only the pork tapeworm is known to cause cysticercosis in humans.

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OstiaAntica
Congress spends hundreds of billions bailing out banksters and auto unions,
while easily solved issues like this are allowed to linger, destroying
countless lives worldwide.

~~~
bdunbar
_destroying countless lives worldwide._

Sure, it's a tragedy.

Philosophical question - why should I pay my taxes to cure this condition
'worldwide'?

This isn't polio, this isn't the 18th century. We know how people get sick, we
know how to prevent this problem. Everyone does.

This isn't something money can fix - this is a cultural problem.

~~~
eli_gottlieb
Umm... actually... the reappearance of such "Third World problems" as
tapeworms, bed-bugs, and other parasites in America has become a major issue.
Congress _does_ need to allocate money towards keeping _our_ nation parasite-
free.

~~~
bdunbar
I disagree it's become a major issue. A problem, yes, but exaggerated by
better reporting and invasive media.

We don't need to throw money at it, and certainly not at the Federal level.
Because this isn't some kind of new thing, it's a people that have gotten lazy
about public health and forgotten how awful epidemics can be.

It is - just like tape worm in the brain, a cultural problem, not something
that money can fix.

~~~
eli_gottlieb
I wouldn't say people have gotten lazy. Somehow you just can't prefurnish an
apartment or buy used furniture anymore if it involves upholstery, because
bed-bugs have returned. I don't know whose "laziness" that is.

~~~
bdunbar
_I don't know whose "laziness" that is._

I don't habitually go around blaming individual problems on 'society' or 'the
masses'. But ...

It's 'us' that got weak. Our culture. We got lazy, decided that the poisons
that eliminated bedbugs were bad, forgot how awful the things were, how much
work it was to keep a household free of pestilence, and let them slip back in.

You can see this attitude everywhere from vaccine deniers to the fools who
deride public health measures as intrusive on their liberties.

~~~
eli_gottlieb
Ah, fair enough.

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brlewis
I couldn't find the "epidemic" part of this article. Is there one?
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemic>

_In epidemiology, an epidemic (επί (epi)- meaning "upon or above" and δήμος
(demos)- meaning "people"), occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a
given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what
is expected based on recent experience._

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CodeCube
Good god, that is horrifying. Did I miss it, or did the article not say how
one contracts this?

I think I'll steer clear of the pork chops today.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
You missed it, though it wasn't explicit:

>" _The eggs are shed in the infected person’s feces. Pigs swallow these eggs
accidentally as they rummage for food on the ground. When the parasite eggs
reach a pig’s stomach, larvae hatch and burrow their way into the animal’s
bloodstream. Eventually they end up lodged in small blood vessels, typically
in the animal’s muscles. There they form cysts and wait until their host is
eaten by a human. (Pork has to be undercooked for the tapeworms to complete
their journey.)_ "

They link Wikipedia which is no more explicit:

>" _They are infected by eating undercooked pork that contains viable
cysticerci._ "

~~~
yaix
That's why every pork that is slaughtered will be inspected by a vetarinarian
who is looking for these eggs (little white balls).

I remember, when I was a kid, my grandparents had pigs on their farm and when
they slaughtered one once a year, some dude with a microscope would come the
next day, check it and put a stamp on it.

And I am pretty sure that it is the initial reason why some religions are not
allowed to eat pork, a smart move 2k years ago, when there were no microscopes
around.

~~~
georgieporgie
_And I am pretty sure that it is the initial reason why some religions are not
allowed to eat pork_

In anthropology class, we were told that bone records showed the domestication
of pigs, a subsequent explosion in pig population, then a sudden
disappearance. The most likely explanation, we were told, was that pigs
competed with humans for resources.

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tocomment
Why wouldn't the blood-brain barrier prevent this?

~~~
Lexarius
The larva has to burrow into the bloodstream to begin with. Maybe it just
waits until it gets stuck somewhere, and then burrows into the surrounding
tissue?

~~~
ufo
The blood brain barrier is for microscopic stuff.

The tapeworm larvae, on the other hand, is a big multicelular mofo and it can
burrow itself into brain tissue just like it can burrow itself into
muscle/pork.

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yaix
There is a BBC documentary called "Parasites" about the topic. It includes
some cases of cysts and other larvae in the brain, and many more interesting
cases of animals living inside humans.

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liamondrop
* puts down sandwich * backs away slowly * forward article to office, so they understand what I must now do * reaches for flamethrower...

~~~
shaggyfrog
As the writhing, teeming mass of mindworms swarmed over the outer perimeter,
we saw the defenders recoil in horror. "Stay calm! Use your flame guns!"
shouted the commander, but to no avail. It is well know that the Mind Worm
Boil uses psychic terror to paralyze its prey, and then carefully implants
ravenous larvae into the brains of its still-conscious victims. Even with the
best weapons, only the most disciplined troops can resist this horrific
attack.

~~~
fein
So I take it that this means we all have to align ourselves with Gaia's
Stepdaughters?

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debacle
Well, thank goodness I'm already done with lunch.

This article was truly terrifying.

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iharris
I had to pick the Swiss cheese out of my sandwich after seeing the pictures.

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dguaraglia
1.5k to 2k people in a country the size of the US is hardly an 'epidemic'.

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Spoom
If you're on the east coast like I am, the timing of this article is perfect.

 _notes to cook pork a little beyond the recommended temperature in future_

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shimsham
euwwww

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earl
_Oh_ my fucking god. I need an MRI. stat.

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idleloops
Check out Carl Zimmer's book: Parasite Rex and his columns for more of the
same.

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niels_olson
The odds of a hacker in the US developing neurocysticercosis is approximately
nil. If you would like to promote a slightly more relevant topic for your
compadres, please consider upvoting my letter to a patient:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3982796>

~~~
ufo
Did it ever happen to you that there are also hackers outside the US?

