In partnership with
NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS STARTS WITH THE PORK TAPEWORM
THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.
A Quick Shoutout To Our Sponsor
Here's What They Have For You
👇🏻
Where Quantitative Thinkers Compete, Learn and Grow
The International Quant Championship (IQC) is one of the world's largest quantitative research competitions, bringing together 156,000+ participants globally.
Participants have the opportunity to develop quantitative research skills, challenge themselves alongside peers from around the world and connect with a global community of quantitative thinkers.
OKAY BACK FROM THE PARASITOLOGY LAB 🔬
👇🏻
THE PORK TAPEWORM ITSELF 🪱
Taenia Solium Is The Scientific Name Of The Pork Tapeworm
The Adult Worm Lives In The Human Small Intestine
Humans Are The Only Hosts Where It Can Grow Into An Adult
Infection With The Adult Worm Causes Few Symptoms
The Worm May Survive For Several Years Without Treatment
Its Head Is Called The Scolex
The Scolex Has Four Suckers And A Double Crown Of Hooks
Those Suckers And Hooks Attach The Worm To The Intestinal Wall
The Head Stays Hooked There
That Makes Finding It In A Stool Sample Extremely Rare
Behind The Head Is A Wide Chain Of Several Hundred Segments
One Review Puts The Chain At 2 To 4 Meters Long
Each Segment Is Called A Proglottid
The Segments At The Far End Carry Fertile Eggs
Those Segments Break Off And Leave The Body In The Feces
Thousands Of Fertile Eggs Are Released Into The Environment
The Worm's Life Cycle Involves Two Hosts
In The Normal Cycle Pigs Host The Larvae
A Quick Shoutout To Our Sponsor
Here's What They Have For You
👇🏻
Watch Us Build Your First Agent Workflow Live
Join HubSpot for Startups and Dust on October 28 at 11am EDT / 8am PDT for a live webinar.
If logging, enrichment, and routing are eating your team’s week, this one’s for you. We’ll build the agents that handle that go-to-market work in HubSpot and Dust, so your team can get back to selling.
You’ll watch us build a post-call automation and a Slack account ownership layer. Then you can set up the same thing for your team.
HOW PORK CARRIES THE WORM 🐷
In Some Places Human Feces Are Not Disposed Of Properly
There Pigs End Up Eating Human Feces Containing The Eggs
Inside The Pig The Eggs Lose Their Coats
They Release Larvae Called Oncospheres
The Larvae Cross The Pig's Intestinal Wall
They Enter The Bloodstream And Are Carried To The Tissues
There The Larvae Grow Into Cysts Called Cysticerci
Pork From An Infected Pig Carries These Cysts
A Review Says Heating Meat To Between 60 And 65°C Kills Them
Cooking It Until It Loses Its Pink Color Also Works
Another Paper Says Freezing Long Enough Kills Them Too
Eating Improperly Cooked Infected Pork Releases The Cysts
This Happens In The Person's Small Intestine
Digestive Enzymes Make The Cyst's Head Turn Outward
The Head Attaches To The Intestinal Wall
Then The Worm Starts Growing Its Segments
This Gut Infection Is Called Taeniasis
So Undercooked Pork Gives A Person The Adult Worm In The Gut
A Quick Shoutout To Our Sponsor
Here's What They Have For You
👇🏻
Tired of news that feels like noise?
Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture — all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.
HOW THE EGGS REACH THE BRAIN 🧠
People Can Also Host The Larvae The Way Pigs Do
This Happens When The Worm's Eggs Get Into A Person
Food Or Water Contaminated With Feces Can Carry Them
Typically The Eggs Pass From Feces To Mouth
Poor Hand Hygiene Is One Way That Happens
A Person Carrying The Adult Worm Can Also Infect Themselves
Inside The Gut The Larvae Hatch From The Eggs
They Invade The Intestinal Wall
From There They Reach The Bloodstream
Migration To Tissues And Organs Takes 60 To 70 Days
There They Develop Into Cysts
The Cysts Can Grow In Muscles Skin And Eyes
They Can Also Grow In The Central Nervous System
Cysts In The Central Nervous System May Stay Alive For Years
Others Degenerate And End Up As Calcium Deposits
When Cysts Form In The Brain It Is Called Neurocysticercosis
It Is The Most Common Worm Disease Of The Central Nervous System
People With No History Of Eating Pork Have Had It Too
So Have People With No Travel To Areas Where The Worm Is Common
