An emergency doctor shared a gruesome CT, which highlighted the damage parasites can inflict upon a human body.
According to the NY Post, Dr. Sam Ghali shared an image of a patient's leg muscles, which were riddled by a parasitic infection. The infection was said to have come as a result of the patient's consumption of undercooked pork.
The infection comes via a parasite, and is called "cysticercosis." Cysticercosis is caused by the larvae of the parasite Taenia solium, which is often called the "Pork Tapeworm."
Dr. Ghali wrote that humans "become infected with T. solium by ingesting cysts" which are found in undercooked pork. He continued on that the larvae then hatch, and the real trouble soon follows. Soon they "penetrate the intestinal wall and invade into the bloodstream," before spreading freely throughout the body. The larvae will then calcify, and form a hard cyst in muscles or the brain, which often feel like lumps under the skin.
As were easily seen in the image shared by Dr. Ghali, the cysts will appear white on a CT. Moreover, they are called "rice grain calcifications," as a result of their unique appearance.
Here?s one of the craziest CT scans I?ve ever seen
What?s the diagnosis? pic.twitter.com/DSJmPfCy9L
— Sam Ghali, M.D. (@EM_RESUS) August 25, 2024
Parasites Calcify into Cysts in Shockingly Revealing CT Image
Interestingly, Dr. Ghali said that the larvae's spreading throughout a human body is rarely dangerous. According to Dr. Ghali, a human body's inflammatory response often "ends up killing the cysts." Ghali did though make a point to mention the dangers associated with an infection spreading to the brain. Once in the brain, the parasites will calcify, and the cysts created can be very problematic for a host.
An infection in the brain is called "neurocysticerosis." The diagnosis is accompanied by "headaches, seizures, confusion and other neurological problems."
Cysticerosis is rarely fatal, but it can be. Dr. Ghali made the point that around 50 million will be infected each year, across the globe. Of those millions, online around 50,000 will die. While tens of thousands is certainly a large number, it is not an overly large fraction of total infections.
Regardless, the shocking image shared by Dr. Ghali certainly caught the attention of internet users.
