Doctor shares chilling CT scan image of parasitic infection; warns against eating undercooked pork

In warning of sorts against eating undercooked meat, a US-based doctor has shared an image of the CT scan of a patient's legs suffering from parasitic infection caused by the same.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Dr Sam Ghali is an emergency medicine physician who regularly shares medical case studies on in his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

Ghali shared the unsettling picture of the CT scan showing a person's lower limbs filled with rice grain like particles and captioned it, "Here’s one of the craziest CT scans I’ve ever seen."

Ghali further went on to explain what the disease is called and what are its causes. "Cysticercosis is an infamous parasitic infection caused by ingestion of larval cysts of Taenia Solium, also known as: Pork Tapeworm," he wrote in the post.

Explaining the spread of the parasite, the doctor said that a human being gets infected by T. Solium by ingesting cysts that can be found in undercooked pork. "After several weeks (usually around 5-12) these cysts evolve within the gastrointestinal tract into mature adult tapeworms. This condition is known as Intestinal Taeniasis," he added.

According to the doctor, after the eggs are ingested (humans or pigs) they release larvae which penetrate the intestinal wall and invade into the bloodstream (via mesenteric venules) and from there can spread to literally anywhere in the entire body.

The main target of the parasite are the brain, eyes, subcutaneous tissues, and skeletal muscles.

Talking about the available treatment options for the condition, Ghali said that patients can opt for anti-parasitic therapy, steroids, anti-epileptics (neurocysticercosis), and surgical removal.

Dr. Sam ended his post by urging people to never eat raw or undercooked pork.

"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," he wrote.

Ghali has over 6 lakh followers on X.