How dangerous is brain tapeworm in humans?

Brain flukes are the most dangerous parasitic disease that is often mistaken for a neurological disease, so most cases are detected late, when the pork tapeworm larvae have already caused brain damage.

Causes of brain fluke disease

The disease process of worms is through dirty foods, especially due to the habit of eating raw blood pudding, raw fish salad, undercooked meat or raw vegetables that are not properly cleaned. The larvae of worms in food penetrate the digestive tract through the intestinal mucosa into the circulatory system and reach the organs in the body, usually located under the skin, muscles or brain tissue, eyes.

It is also possible for tapeworm larvae to travel through the bloodstream to the brain, lungs, liver, etc. and cause disease. If the larvae take up residence in the brain, they will cause disease. The disease is common in areas with low living standards and poor hygiene, especially in areas with free-range pig farming practices.

Prevent brain tapeworm disease by eating cooked food and drinking boiled water, and not eating pig's blood pudding...

Symptoms of brain fluke infection

Clinical symptoms of brain flukes are often asymptomatic if the flukes are localized under the skin or in the muscles. Sometimes they are discovered incidentally thanks to calcified nodules in the soft tissue on chest or limb X-rays.

The severity of the damage depends on the number of cysts in the brain. Common symptoms include: headache, nausea or vomiting, seizures (epilepsy), hemiplegia or sensory disturbances, difficulty sleeping or insomnia, blurred vision, increased intracranial pressure, neurasthenia, mental disorders, and sudden death.

Most patients infected with brain worms have symptoms of prolonged headaches or seizures, treated at the primary care level for months, even years without improvement with a diagnosis of headaches and epilepsy. When having a CT scan, images of brain worms are easily detected by large cysts from 0.5-1 cm.

Stages of brain flukes

Non-cystic stage 1: At this stage, the parasite embryo cannot be seen on CT or MRI. However, mild edematous areas may be seen. Over several months, these will progress to lesions as the embryo develops into the characteristic cysts of the disease.

Stage 2 cysts: Cysts have opaque walls, contain clear fluid and parasites inside. If these cysts are intact, the patient will not show symptoms.

Stage 3 colloid cyst: The cyst wall thickens, the fluid inside becomes more opaque, and the patient will have a severe inflammatory reaction. This shows that the condition is starting to worsen. At this stage, edematous lesions can be seen on X-rays. The patient often has seizures.

Stage 4 Granulomatous: At this stage, swelling has subsided, but seizures and convulsions may still occur. Seizures often occur during the colloidal and granulomatous stages because the inflammatory zones surrounding the parasite are becoming inactive.

Stage 5 Calcification : Occurs after the parasite is no longer active. Seizures may still occur due to inflammation caused by the immune system's response to the parasite's corpse.

Brain tapeworm treatment

Regarding treatment, patients with brain flukes are treated with specific drugs, which are only effective against active flukes and should be performed at specialized facilities. In fact, treatment of larval infection depends on the stage of development of the larva and its complications.

If the parasite is no longer alive, the approach is as follows:

Treatment is mainly symptomatic.

Anticonvulsants are used to treat epilepsy.

Treatment duration remains undetermined.

If the parasite is alive or active, other treatments are as follows:

Patients with vasculitis, arachnoiditis, or encephalitis: A course of steroids or immunosuppressants is recommended prior to the use of specific antihelminthic drugs.

Parasitological treatment with albendazole is also useful in polycystic cysticercosis (eg, multiple cysts in the cerebral cistern resembling clusters of grapes - "racemose" form).

Patients with intraparenchymal, subarachnoid, or spinal cord cysts and no complications (eg, chronic seizures, headaches, stroke-related neurologic signs, hydrocephalus): may be treated specifically for tapeworm, with concomitant steroid use.

Multiple trials of specific tapeworm treatment may be required for giant subarachnoid cysts.

Patients with epilepsy due to viable intraparenchymal cysts: antiparasitic treatment.

For sequelae, if accompanied by epilepsy complications, treatment must be as for normal epilepsy. If the worm causes damage to the eye, treatment must be based on symptoms to reduce swelling and compression, sometimes requiring surgical intervention.

Brain flukes can cause serious complications such as stroke and even be life-threatening if not detected and treated promptly.

Doctor's advice

Eat cooked food and drink boiled water, do not eat pig's blood pudding, pig's intestines, salad, rare pork... Do not eat pork and rice, do not eat raw or rare aquatic vegetables such as Vietnamese coriander, water spinach, celery... but must cook thoroughly before eating;

Wash hands before eating and after using the toilet;

Clean environment;

Build hygienic toilets, do not defecate in public;

Do not raise free-range pigs...;

Use medicine to remove pork tapeworm when infected with tapeworm;

When you have signs of frequent headaches, dizziness, you should go to a medical facility for examination and timely detection and treatment.