Cue the ew.
A horrifying image of calcified parasites embedded in the soft tissue of a human body has gone viral after Sam Ghali, an emergency room doctor, shared the seriously disturbing scan on X.
Describing the image as one of the “most insane X-rays” he’s ever seen, Ghali noted that the entire cross-section of the patient’s trunk was riddled with innumerable oblong densities, resembling an internal hail storm.
“This is a condition known as cysticercosis. Essentially, these are larval cysts of taenia solium — also known as the pork tapeworm.”
He explained that the unnamed patient developed the condition after eating raw or undercooked pig.
The tapeworm taenia solium enters the human body by ingesting the parasite’s larval cysts. These eggs can then develop into adult tapeworms in a human’s gut, usually around 5 to 12 weeks.
However, consumption of the parasite doesn’t directly result in cysticercosis.
“The life cycle begins with a human consuming raw or undercooked pig, and then that person becomes infected with the worms in their GI tract and passes the eggs along to another unfortunate human who then consumes them.”
Cysticercosis materializes when infected people pass on tapeworm eggs to others through their fecal matter. This can happen when people don’t properly wash their hands after using the bathroom or through water contaminated with feces.
Only when the eggs are ingested via fecal-oral transmission can cysticercosis develop.
Ghali noted that the cysts can travel anywhere within the body; in this patient’s case, they infiltrated the musculature and soft tissue of the hips and legs.
“What happens is they lodge here, and over time, they calcify. And that gives them this classic appearance known as rice grain calcification.”
Ghail maintained that the cysts pose no immediate threat in this area or most body locales. Ironically, the X-ray in question was only taken after the patient had fallen and broken a bone.
However, serious problems arise when the cysts travel to the brain and calcify, a condition known as neurocysticercosis. This can lead to neurological issues like confusion, headaches, seizures and even death.
According to the World Health Organization, around 2.8 million people are infected with Taenia solium yearly, with cases frequently reported in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.
Ghali concluded his X medical lesson by urging viewers to “do your best to keep clean, always wash your hands, and never, ever eat raw or undercooked pork.”
Point taken, and hard pass on the raw pork.
