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Monday, May 06, 2013

Brain Parasites Spreading In U.S.

Imagine having seizures and being rushed to the hospital. A brain scan shows a one centimeter “tumor.” You have immediate surgery to remove it. Now imagine waking up and listening as the brain surgeon tells you the tumor he just removed from your head was really a parasite!This is what happened to Jay Whalley, the lead singer of an Australian rock band, in February of this year.Whalley is one of the lucky ones – he survived. A Vietnamese immigrant in California was not so fortunate. He died of a massive infection with parasitic worms that spread throughout his body, including his lungs. The mortality rate for patients with advanced cases of this worm is as high as 90%, according to an infectious diseases expert at Stanford University School of Medicine. One can only wonder about the risks this man’s neighbors, co-workers, or caregivers may have been exposed to.
Here’s why I’m sharing these disgusting stories with you…

Although the general public isn’t worried about being infected with parasites, they should be. In fact, cysticercosis, which is what Whalley had, is on the hit list of the United States Centers for Disease Control. It is one of five parasitic infections targeted by the CDC for public health action.

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