Taiwan doctor discovers tapeworms living in patient’s legs after patient eats raw pork

[Miles]

A Taichung physician on Thursday warned against eating raw pork after treating a migrant worker for tapeworms that had infected their calf muscles.

Chang Wei-shuo (張為碩), an infectious disease specialist at Asia University Hospital, said that he treated a Thai national complaining of pain in their calves.

An X-ray showed white, elongated forms in the person’s calf muscles, leading to a diagnosis of cysticercosis, a tissue infection caused by pork tapeworms, he said, adding that the worker had said they sometimes eat raw pork.

When people eat raw or improperly cooked pork that contains live eggs or larvae, the larvae could mature into pork tapeworms in two to three months, which could then work themselves into the human body, he said.

Typically, cysticercosis occurs in the small intestines of the host and the body naturally expels worm eggs and dead worms, so the infection is usually not felt or detected, he said.

However, tapeworm larvae could also attach themselves to other parts of the body, such as the brain, spinal cord, heart, eyes, kidneys, lungs or skeletal muscle tissues, possibly leading to death, he said.

泰籍移工愛吃生豬肉雙腳痛 Ｘ光一照竟然發現肌肉長滿蟲 - 自由健康網

台中一名來台多年的泰籍移工，平時會吃家鄉美食的生豬肉，近日雙腳出現莫名疼痛就醫，醫生發現疼痛部位並非關節，經安排Ｘ光檢查後，赫然發現下肢肌肉有多處異常梭狀白點，確診為「囊蟲病」，所幸經服藥後狀況大幅好轉，醫師提醒若囊蟲感染到腦部、眼睛或脊髓，恐引發嚴重後遺症，提醒民眾切勿生食豬肉以免染病。亞大醫院感

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Doctor discovers tapeworms living in patient’s legs - Taipei Times

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