In Brief

Man in China Contracts Brain Parasite After Eating Hot Pot

News
By published

The man was discovered to have tapeworm larvae in his brain.

Hot pot
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

A man in China ended up with tapeworm larvae in his brain after eating a hot pot meal that was likely undercooked, according to news reports.

The 46-year-old man, who lives in the eastern province of Zhejiang, went to the hospital after developing neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness and epilepsy-like episodes of limb twitching and foaming at the mouth, according to The Washington Post. The man told doctors that, about a month before his symptoms started, he had eaten pork and mutton in a home-made hot pot meal.

Doctors suspect that the man had purchased meat tainted with tapeworm larvae, and that he didn't cook it well enough to kill those larvae, the Post reported. Indeed, the man said he "only simmered the meat a little," according to CNN.

Originally published on Live Science. 

How It Works Banner

Want more science? Get a subscription of our sister publication "How It Works" magazine, for the latest amazing science news.  (Image credit: Future plc)
Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.