It’s getting creepy from just the name of the topic. Perhaps the worms in the brain are a great reason for the appearance of the next horror movie. But now it is a question of reality, no matter how terrible it may be. The disease really exists and is called neurocysticercosis. By the way, it is worms in the brain that become the most common cause of epilepsy.
Signs of this disease do not always appear. A person may not even know that the worms have already settled in the brain, because some symptoms of general malaise simply do not appear. For the time being and for the time being.
Neurocysticercosis causes the larva of Taenia solium. This is a tapeworm pork worm. There are other names: pork tapeworm, pork tapeworm. Worms parasitize in the body of a pig. With ease, they can be transmitted to humans and continue their cycle already in his body. Poorly cooked or boiled pork can become a source of infection. Food, water may turn out to be infected. You can get infected through hands that are poorly washed. For example, the habit so characteristic of children can try everything to try everything "on the tooth."
Neurocysticercosis is especially common in rural areas. And especially in developing countries where sanitary conditions still leave much to be desired.
The larva enters the stomach and, freed from the membrane, enters the muscles through the bloodstream, and from there into the brain and eyes. As medical experience shows, the worm in the eye can also live and develop safely. A bubble filled with fluid forms around the worm. And if the bubble appears in the muscles, then you may not know about the infection, since it is completely asymptomatic. But the formation of such bubbles in the eyes can result in either partial or even complete loss of vision. Parasitization of worms in the brain eventually causes headaches, encephalitis and epileptic seizures. Another syndrome, less common - confusion, lethargy, impaired coordination (a person can not always maintain balance). Seizures are observed in 70% of patients.
Worms in the body can appear even if you just pet the dog. Veterinarians claim that one gram of wool can have up to two hundred Toxocara canis larvae. It used to be that nematodes come out only with feces. The worm penetrates the body in the same way as its "brothers" - through the mouth, migrates throughout the body and can end up in the eyes, also causing either visual impairment or its complete loss.
Another terrible parasite that settles in the head of a person is echinococcus. An example is the case that occurred in Kazakhstan. Then an operation was performed to remove worms from the brain of a boy of ten years.
Timur Begmanov (the neurosurgeon who attended the operation) says with a shudder: "Echinococcus is not such a rare occurrence, but this is the first time I see it. The operation lasted a long time. We extracted about 20 parasites. The worms in our brain were literally swollen ..."
The neurosurgeon absolutely agrees with the statement: the cause of the infection lies in the use of meat that has not been cooked for a long time and in non-compliance with basic hygiene rules.
A similar case was in Minnesota. Patient Don Besser, while in Mexico, decided to try tortillas with minced meat. Soon she felt unwell and lay in bed for three weeks. Then, something incomprehensible and frightening began to occur in her head. In addition, seizures of epilepsy began. Fortunately, surgeons saved the woman by removing worms from her brain.
But even if you steadfastly resist the temptation to stroke the dog and completely refuse meat, the worms penetrate the body in another way. And they will help them in this ... Mosquitoes!
A couple more examples have already occurred in Russia.
One of the residents of Ulyanovsk several times turned to the doctors with a complaint about the bump that appeared on the head inexplicably from where. Surprisingly, the bump was moving. Appearing first on the back of his head, he moved to his temple, and then appeared on his forehead. After a while, the skin on this bump began to peel off and a long, thin worm crawled out to freedom - dirofilaritis repens. Carriers of the parasite are dogs. Mosquitoes, pumping blood from dogs, fly to a new "victim", carrying larvae. The latter, once in the blood of another animal or person, take root in a new environment and begin to grow, reaching 40 cm. This can last for years (2-3 years). Most often found in the south: Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan regions. Now, cases have been registered in the Kursk region (Kurchatov).
The woman was forced to contact the regional clinic with a complaint to her eyes. During the examination, the diagnosis was "conjunctival edema. A more detailed examination revealed that the edema ... was moving! The patient was sent for surgery." When the seal was opened, we saw a thick, white worm, three millimeters in diameter, and about 10 cm long - says the ophthalmologist who was present at that operation. The worm was sent for "identification". The same dirofilaria was a parasite ...
Unfortunately, it is impossible to insure against infection. But you can significantly reduce the risk by observing the most basic rules of hygiene and food processing. You should not hope that a rare disease will not affect you. When choosing nature, treat your body with protective equipment. And in the warm season, put mosquito nets on the windows.