4 ms·

Good god, that is horrifying. Did I miss it, or did the article not say how one contracts this? I think I'll steer clear of the pork chops today.

pbhjpbhj 14y ago
You missed it, though it wasn't explicit: >"The eggs are shed in the infected person’s feces. Pigs swallow these eggs accidentally as they rummage for food on the ground. When the parasite eggs reach a pig’s stomach, larvae hatch and burrow their way into the animal’s bloodstream. Eventually they end up lodged in small blood vessels, typically in the animal’s muscles. There they form cysts and wait until their host is eaten by a human. (Pork has to be undercooked for the tapeworms to complete their journey.)" They link Wikipedia which is no more explicit: >"They are infected by eating undercooked pork that contains viable cysticerci."
- yaix 14y ago
  That's why every pork that is slaughtered will be inspected by a vetarinarian who is looking for these eggs (little white balls). I remember, when I was a kid, my grandparents had pigs on their farm and when they slaughtered one once a year, some dude with a microscope would come the next day, check it and put a stamp on it. And I am pretty sure that it is the initial reason why some religions are not allowed to eat pork, a smart move 2k years ago, when there were no microscopes around.
  - georgieporgie 14y ago
    And I am pretty sure that it is the initial reason why some religions are not allowed to eat pork In anthropology class, we were told that bone records showed the domestication of pigs, a subsequent explosion in pig population, then a sudden disappearance. The most likely explanation, we were told, was that pigs competed with humans for resources.
- udp 14y ago
  Even the thought of eating cooked cysts is enough to put me off pork.
  - Turing_Machine 14y ago
    I'd recommend avoiding this, then: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Defect_Action_Levels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Defect_Action_Levels
- cstejerean 14y ago
  That's how to get regular tapeworms that end up in the intestine. To get cysts in the brain the process is slightly different: "But sometimes tapeworms take a wrong turn. Instead of going into a pig, the eggs end up in a human. This can occur if someone shedding tapeworm eggs contaminates food that other people then eat. When the egg hatches, the confused larva does not develop into an adult in the human’s intestines. Instead, it acts as it would inside a pig. It burrows into the person’s bloodstream and gets swept through the body. Often those parasites end up in the brain, where they form cysts."
  - option_greek 14y ago
    And more importantly you don't need to eat pork to get them.
bryze 14y ago
Seems like avoiding undercooked pork and fecal contamination should do it.
- jacquesm 14y ago
  That wouldn't be enough. Even a vegetarian can contract this.
- ufo 14y ago
  Undercooked pork gives you tapeworms. You get cysts from fecal contamination.

pbhjpbhj 14y ago

You missed it, though it wasn't explicit: >"The eggs are shed in the infected person’s feces. Pigs swallow these eggs accidentally as they rummage for food on the ground. When the parasite eggs reach a pig’s stomach, larvae hatch and burrow their way into the animal’s bloodstream. Eventually they end up lodged in small blood vessels, typically in the animal’s muscles. There they form cysts and wait until their host is eaten by a human. (Pork has to be undercooked for the tapeworms to complete their journey.)" They link Wikipedia which is no more explicit: >"They are infected by eating undercooked pork that contains viable cysticerci."

yaix 14y ago
That's why every pork that is slaughtered will be inspected by a vetarinarian who is looking for these eggs (little white balls). I remember, when I was a kid, my grandparents had pigs on their farm and when they slaughtered one once a year, some dude with a microscope would come the next day, check it and put a stamp on it. And I am pretty sure that it is the initial reason why some religions are not allowed to eat pork, a smart move 2k years ago, when there were no microscopes around.
- georgieporgie 14y ago
  And I am pretty sure that it is the initial reason why some religions are not allowed to eat pork In anthropology class, we were told that bone records showed the domestication of pigs, a subsequent explosion in pig population, then a sudden disappearance. The most likely explanation, we were told, was that pigs competed with humans for resources.
udp 14y ago
Even the thought of eating cooked cysts is enough to put me off pork.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago
  I'd recommend avoiding this, then: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Defect_Action_Levels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Defect_Action_Levels
cstejerean 14y ago
That's how to get regular tapeworms that end up in the intestine. To get cysts in the brain the process is slightly different: "But sometimes tapeworms take a wrong turn. Instead of going into a pig, the eggs end up in a human. This can occur if someone shedding tapeworm eggs contaminates food that other people then eat. When the egg hatches, the confused larva does not develop into an adult in the human’s intestines. Instead, it acts as it would inside a pig. It burrows into the person’s bloodstream and gets swept through the body. Often those parasites end up in the brain, where they form cysts."
- option_greek 14y ago
  And more importantly you don't need to eat pork to get them.

bryze 14y ago

Seems like avoiding undercooked pork and fecal contamination should do it.

jacquesm 14y ago
That wouldn't be enough. Even a vegetarian can contract this.
ufo 14y ago
Undercooked pork gives you tapeworms. You get cysts from fecal contamination.