The aches were caused by tapeworm larvae that had actually taken up space in her brain, according to a brand-new study on her case by the The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene published on September 21. Her newest headache lasted for more than a week and came with more severe visual symptoms, including the blurring of her main vision.An MRI of her brain led medical professionals to believe that a tumor may be the cause of her pain, but after operating and eliminating the lesion, they found it was in fact a cyst complete of tapeworm larvae. The parasite is frequently transmitted when people consume undercooked pork– pigs are frequently intermediary tapeworm hosts– or come in contact with food, soil and water polluted with tapeworm eggs.The female, who worked as a barista, was considered to be at no or extremely low threat of infection with tapeworm larvae however is believed to have in some way inadvertently ingested tapeworm eggs launched from a carrier.A man from Texas had a similar experience, suffering from splitting headaches for more than a years that turned out to be caused by tapeworm larvae that became lodged in his brains 4th ventricle.The finest line of defense versus comparable infection is cooking meat to safe temperature levels, washing your hands with soap before consuming and only consuming food you can guarantee was cooked in sanitary conditions.CNNs Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.
