The horrible aftermath of eating undercooked sausages has been highlighted by a chilling scan that has done the rounds online.
We all know that undercooked chicken is an absolute no-no, potentially causing salmonella or food poisoning among other health issues.
Beef can be eaten undercooked as long as it’s not raw, but what about pork?
It feels like there isn’t a guideline on how ‘done’ pork should be, but the general consensus is that it needs to be cooked, and for good reason.
You’ll want to make sure that these are well cooked (Getty Stock Photo)
Dr Sam Ghali is an urgent care doctor from the University of Florida, and is known for educating people on social media about medical emergencies, its causes and how they can be avoided.
On Sunday (25 August) last week, the medical professional shared a horrifying image of a patient that had eaten contaminated meat, brought on by undercooked or raw pork, on X.
The scan reveals signs of a parasitic infection know as cysticercosis, which is when the larvae of a species of tapeworm enters tissues such as muscles or in the worst cases, the brain.
Dr Ghali explains: “It is caused by the ingestion of larval cysts of Taenia Solium, also known as Pork Tapeworm.”
These form hard calcified cysts that feel like lumps under your skin, and they eerily light up like rice grains on medical scans, scattered all over your body, when it is called cysticerci.
Luckily, they are harmless, despite looking and feeling weird, as the larvae cannot survive outside the intestine.
But these cysts can serve up a problem if they start to develop in the brain.
The horrific scan reveals how many cysts can form if the tapeworm gets in. (X/EM_RESUS)
If cysts are formed in the actual brain tissue, this condition is known as neurocysticercosis, which can lead to ‘headaches, confusion, seizures, and other serious neurologic problems,’ according to Dr Ghali.
The tapeworm that cause this infection enters the human body through consumption of its eggs, which can be found in undercooked pork.
They can develop adult tapeworms in people’s guts, only becoming cysticercosis if infected people pass tapeworm eggs on to each other, via their poo.
He explained: “It’s very important to note that it is only when these eggs are ingested via faecal-oral transmission, that one can develop the clinical syndrome known as of cysticercosis.”
In the next part, described by Dr Ghali as ‘crazy’, he adds that when the eggs are ingested, larvae is released, penetrating the intestinal wall and spreading all over your body, with the most common destinations being the brain, eyes, subcutaneous tissues, and skeletal muscles.
This mainly happens through people not washing their hands properly after using the toilet, or through poo-contaminated water.
When entering the brain, cysts can cause dizziness or even seizures, as well as a fatal condition called, an excess of fluid in the brain – when surgery would be needed to remove the cysts.
Just cook your pork well, lads (Getty Stock Photo)
It’s a lot more common than you’d think though, as The World Health Organization estimates that Taenia solium larvae cysts developing in the brain is responsible for up to 70 percent of epilepsy cases in some parts of the world.
Dr Ghali stated: “The prognosis for cysticercosis is generally good but unfortunately some cases are fatal. It’s estimated that around 50 million people worldwide are infected each year resulting in ~50,000 deaths.
“So the moral of the story here is do your best to keep clean, always wash your hands, and never, ever eat raw or undercooked pork.”
Treatment options for the condition include anti-parasitic therapy, steroids, anti-epileptics and surgical removal.
Like he said though lads, just cook your pork and don’t cut corners.
