unidentified 52-year-old American man

experiencing weekly migraines…unresponsive to medication.

denied traveling to “high-risk areas…lived at home with his wife and cat in a modern home”

the man revealed that he did have a preference for “lightly cooked, non-crispy bacon” which he ate for most of his life.

diagnosed with neurocysticercosis, a preventable parasitic infection caused by larval systems from the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.

“…cysticercosis was transmitted via autoinfection after improper handwashing after he had contracted taeniasis himself from his eating habits,” researchers said.

prescribed

drugs, but

“The treatment of neurocysticercosis is controversial. … there is concern that most of the inflammation occurs when the cysts are killed, giving some clinicians pause when considering treatment. …”

Patient went for it anyway and treatment was successful!

Infected pork -> cold fry pan -> mouth -> toilet -> no hand wash -> eggs back to mouth -> larvae in brain

Oof!