Parasitology: helminths — nematodes, cestodes, trematodes
Microbiology · MBBS
Study notes
A child with seizures has ring lesions on brain CT — neurocysticercosis. Pork tapeworm (Taenia solium) eggs hatch larvae that encyst in the brain — seizures, the commonest cause of adult-onset epilepsy in endemic areas. Albendazole kills cysts; steroids tame the inflammation as they die (killing without steroids worsens edema). Prevention — cook pork, wash vegetables, treat carriers. The seizure with a calcified ring is the tapeworm's signature — pork's hidden price.
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