A teenager in India suffering from seizures was found by doctors to have a parasitic disease caused by swallowing tapeworm eggs, according to a new journal study. The 18-year-old from Faridabad
Following an MRI scan, the doctors at Faridabad’s hospital discovered that the teen had “cystic lesions” in his brain, according to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr Nishanth Dev and Dr S. Zafar Abbas then diagnosed the patient with neurocysticercosis – a parasitic disease affecting the brain and central nervous system. Despite treatment at the hospital, the 18-year-old died two weeks after he was admitted to the ER department.
Humans can become infected after consuming undercooked food, particularly pork, or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs, or through poor hygiene practices, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The larvae crawl out of the tapeworm eggs and burrow into the brain tissues and muscles, where they build up and form cysts. The health body said preventing the infection would require a wide range of interventions, including improving food safety and hygiene, as well as better identification and treatment.