Bhopal: Arjun Chaubey, a 17-year-old boy, was healthy and hearty until recently when he fainted and complained of headache. The family was not unaware of his condition until they got his medical examination done. To their shock, the doctors told them that Arunj had a tapeworm in his brain. The condition is medically termed as Cerebral cysticercosis, more commonly known as parasitic infection.
Dr Lovely Kaushal, head of the department in radiology at Hamidia hospital confirmed that they are receiving at least four parasitic infection cases every month. Cases are found in people who live on greens; raw vegetables and salads, if taken without washing or boiling, can help tapeworms enter human bodies. Be it cabbage, spinach or broccoli tapeworm can find a hiding place anywhere and if not cleansed properly can enter into human body, the doctor informed.
Arjun, a resident of Nehru Nagar area, is one of the patients having diagnosed by the infection. On New Year eve, Arjun had gone to a party with his friends where he fainted in the washroom. He suffered injury in his back but never told the family about it, said Shubham, the boy’s elder brother. Thereafter he continued to complain about headache and when the condition continued, we took him to a doctor; and after EEG and CT scan, a spot was detected in his brain. He was then admitted to hospital and the doctors confirmed that he was infested with a tapeworm, Shubham told Free Press.
Arjun feasts on chow mein and other such delicacies served with raw vegetables and he might have got the insect during one such dinning, he said. The doctors have suggested four months rest to Arjun and asked him to avoid driving. One of the doctors at Hazela hospital, where Arjun was initially treated, told us that there have been cases where a large number of eggs were detected breeding inside the brain of a patient and so great care is required to treat the infection, said the youth. The tapeworm reaches stomach through greens and later reaches brain during blood circulation where it survives until medically treated, he quoted doctors.
