I am posting this here so all of you will know that we have diseases and parasites running rampant
in this country and we are as suspectible as ever just by eating at restaurants where the people
don't take care and wash their hands and have proper cleanliness. I can tell you that some Anglos
are indeed getting had by these types of parasites but of course the news media and such fail to
inform the general public until a terrible outbreak has occured. We live outside of Las Cruces and
there are many problems down here at the border. Please take the proper precautions for yourself and
your family.
GQ
Latinos at risk for infection
An OHSU study indicates there are more cases in Oregon than once thought of serious illness caused
by tapeworm larvae
02/28/04
PATRICK O'NEILL
A new study urges Oregon physicians to be alert for parasitic brain infections in Latino patients
who have seizures or chronic headaches.
The study, led by an infectious disease specialist at Oregon Health & Science University, indicates
that tapeworm larvae from undercooked pork affects more Latinos -- and those who travel in
developing nations -- than previously suspected.
The study, which appears in the March edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a publication of the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concludes that the parasite "causes substantial
illness and death among Hispanic populations in Oregon."
Dr. John M. Townes, an infectious disease specialist at OHSU and the study's lead author, said the
findings should make Oregon physicians more aware of the possibility that tapeworm larvae are
the source of neurological problems in some patients.
Townes said the study was sparked by the death in 2000 of a teenage girl who had immigrated to
Oregon from Mexico as an infant. The 17-year-old girl had sought medical care for progressively
severe headaches. After three medical visits, health workers diagnosed "tension headaches." They did
not perform CT scans or other diagnostic imaging that could have revealed the parasite.
Several days after her last visit, the girl died. An autopsy showed that a tapeworm larvae had grown
in her brain, obstructing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.
The infection -- the tongue-twisting scientific name is neurocysticercosis -- is caused by the
parasite Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm, which public health officials recently identified as a
cause of disease in Southwestern states.
The tapeworm -- as well as trichinosis, another parasitic infection -- has been eradicated in U.S.
pork through careful animal husbandry practices. But in other parts of the world, the worm has
emerged as a serious public health problem.
In developing countries, the parasite is passed between people and pigs. People eat undercooked pork
that is infected with the parasitic larvae, called cysts. The ingested cysts develop into adult
tapeworms in the human intestine and shed eggs in the feces. In unsanitary conditions, human waste
can contaminate pig food, which pigs ingest. The eggs enter the pigs' bloodstream and form cysts in
muscle tissue.
Townes said most cases of pork tapeworm infections in the United States probably originated outside
the country. In the study, researchers examined the medical records of 61 patients who had been
treated for the condition in Oregon hospitals from January 1995 through December 2000.
Of the 57 patients for whom the country of birth was available, 41 were from Mexico. Only five of
the 57 had not traveled outside of the United States. Of those five, one probably was exposed while
living in Colorado. The remaining four probably were infected by family members, he said.
From 1995 to 2000, the study estimates the infection rate at 0.2 per 100,000 for the general
population in Oregon compared with 3.1 per 100,000 for Latinos.
Larvae can live 20 years
The disease can pass from person to person -- usually close family members -- without the help of a
pig. If a family member carries a tapeworm, eggs can be shed in the feces and transmitted to others
through lack of hand washing.
In such cases, the eggs travel to the intestine, where they enter the bloodstream. The microscopic
eggs can travel throughout the body and can lodge in muscle tissue, under the skin, in the eyes and,
most frequently, in the brain, Townes said.
The developing larvae produce a substance that shuts off the immune response in the area around the
cyst. Larvae can live in the body for as long as 20 years, he said, and depending on the location,
might not cause symptoms.
Victims begin to have seizures if the larvae block critical fluid passages or interfere with
important brain areas.
When the larval cyst dies, Townes said, the immune system begins attacking it, causing inflammation
and seizures. In developing countries, he said, the parasite is the most common cause of seizures.
Scope of problem unclear
"We don't know the full scope of the problem in Oregon," he said. "This work suggests that it may be
more of a problem than people recognize. We do know it is a significant problem in Southwestern
states along the border with Mexico."
Until 2003, Oregon health officials didn't require physicians to report cases of pork tapeworm
infection, he said, because it wasn't regarded as a problem in the state.
"Part of the reason was a feeling that there's not a great deal of transmission going on in the
U.S.," Townes said. "But this study suggests that at least some transmission may be happening in
these communities through tapeworm carriers traveling back and forth."
Townes said the study, carried out in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Human Services,
probably understates the extent of the problem. It examined only the records of people who had been
admitted to hospitals for treatment of the condition.
It's likely that many low-income Latinos lack health insurance for medical treatment, he said. Also,
the study would not identify patients who were given emergency care and were not admitted to
hospitals.
Patrick O'Neill; 503-221-8233; [email hidden]