alt.hn

6/27/2026 at 4:31:58 PM

Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/doctors-suspected-man-had-brain-cancer-he-actually-had-worms/

by Bender

6/27/2026 at 5:09:05 PM

> The finding surprised the doctors since tapeworms aren’t endemic to Spain and he said he hadn’t traveled. However, the man may have been exposed during his work. Until 10-years prior, when he retired, he had worked in construction, often working alongside people who had migrated from regions where pork tapeworms (Taenia solium) are endemic. The parasitic worms can spread through the fecal-oral route. His doctors speculated his infection might have been a rare case of cryptic transmission from sharing meals and bathrooms with his coworkers, one of whom apparently had a tapeworm infection.

yikes

by sva_

6/27/2026 at 7:20:05 PM

You are right about pork especially in foreign countries where no health standards parasites are known to exist in pork not to mention meningitis from pork as well.

by VaderAi

6/27/2026 at 8:30:48 PM

[dead]

by romanusrome

6/27/2026 at 7:17:55 PM

That's pretty much the only way norovirus spreads, and it's common enough to kill ~200,000 people a year.

by dlcarrier

6/27/2026 at 7:34:11 PM

Moral of the story, eating shit and undercooked meat come with risks.

by eschulz

6/27/2026 at 5:17:25 PM

[flagged]

by htx80nerd

6/27/2026 at 5:28:45 PM

Where did you/your ancestors migrate from, and did any of them do any work at any point?

by vkou

6/27/2026 at 6:28:44 PM

This is a big fear of mine. I have a course of albendazole once every year just for this. It is de facto over the counter in India. I bought enough to last 4 years, the last time I was there.

by woadwarrior01

6/27/2026 at 8:13:46 PM

I have often thought it might be a wise idea to do some form of prophylactic course against parasitic infections given my extensive travels, but this isn't something that's generally recommended here in the US and I've yet to meet a doctor who would be willing to prescribe deworming without evidence of an active infection. Is this something that's common in India?

by tristor

6/27/2026 at 8:16:38 PM

AFAIK there is no prophylactic for pork tapeworms. I'd love to be proven wrong.

by uh_uh

6/27/2026 at 6:38:20 PM

Do you take it even if you don't have any symptoms?

by aurareturn

6/27/2026 at 7:24:43 PM

Yes. 400mg prophylactic dose, once every year.

by woadwarrior01

6/27/2026 at 5:13:31 PM

But actually, it was lupus

by ramon156

6/27/2026 at 5:31:50 PM

And the throat incision clip

by sourcegrift

6/27/2026 at 5:59:41 PM

Why did they use CT before MRI?

by mhb

6/27/2026 at 6:21:14 PM

Presumably what they had available. Since MRI machines (and qualified technicians) are much more expensive, it's not uncommon for smaller facilities to rely on mobile MRIs which aren't on-site every day.

by bdcravens

6/27/2026 at 7:01:45 PM

if the worms are in the brain the man is likely not fine and won't ever be like before

by retinaros

6/27/2026 at 7:25:02 PM

Half the time, there aren't any symptoms at all: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4621219/

by dlcarrier

6/27/2026 at 7:54:34 PM

I guess the symptoms might be super hard to identify. llike a cognitive decline on some functions.

by retinaros

6/27/2026 at 5:15:31 PM

Ok, and what happened to the man after? Did they remove it? Was he ok and back to normal or forever damaged?

by tamimio

6/27/2026 at 5:21:29 PM

> NCC can be serious, causing seizures, significant neurological deficits, cognitive decline, stroke, and other problems. But it can also be asymptomatic. The severity depends on where in the brain the worms settle. Luckily for the man, the effects were relatively mild. Doctors prescribed him two anti-parasitic drugs, and he recovered.

and here is the actual case report: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0587_article

> We treated the patient successfully with albendazole (400 mg 2×/d) and praziquantel (1,200 mg 3×/d), alongside dexamethasone taper, without complications.

by throawayonthe

6/27/2026 at 5:30:07 PM

Thanks and glade he made it!

by tamimio