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Has anyone ever heard of these diseases? It turns out that their high prevalence, especially in the North of Vietnam, has inevitably been of concern to me.
Maybe and just maybe I’m exaggerating, but the sequelae, a disease like neurocysticercosis can leave, are sadly permanent. It’s known that taenia solium (Pork tapeworm) eggs have some preference for the central nervous system where they best strive forming bean-sized cysts in the brain. Those eggs are found in the feces of tapeworm carriers and the vast majority of them don’t ever realize they’ve been hosts until they have “accidentally” infected themselves and begin having noticeable symptoms like grandmal seizures.
It’s curious but despite of the fact that it’s endemic in Northern Vietnam, not all the specialists are completely aware of it and don’t take this seriously. The Ministry of Public Health should pay more attention to this. They should constantly remind people about improving their hygiene habits. It’s not really the same as catching a diarrhea or being food-poisoned. It just goes beyond that. There’s no vaccine to prevent it. Although the disease normally doesn’t kill, it does disable people.
After I learnt about all of this, I’ve been quite careful about things I touch or eat, because taenia solium eggs can survive up to two years out in the open waiting for some unsuspecting victim.
Just google “Neurocysticercosis Taeniasis Hanoi” or simply “Neurocysticercosis” to learn more about the disease.
There are carriers in Hanoi, and those carriers usually come from rural areas. I don’t really consider myself finicky, I’m just taking precautions and would like somehow let you know. :-)
I also know that washing one’s hands before handling food or eating and after using the toilet or having contact with soiled things are the solution, but unfortunately the failure may come from someone else.
Any comments will be appreciated, thanks!
health tapeworm (add tags) Why? Details of tags
answered about 11 months ago by kristen
To add to the above, the best way to prevent infection is by cooking meat to the correct temperature (160 degrees for pork). However, if you're like most expats, you don't cook for yourself very often, which makes it difficult to monitor food preparation. If you're worried, stick to eating in decent restaurants and avoid pork on the streets.
answered about 11 months ago by weakyknee
holy christ. i had no idea that this was something i had to worry about. thanks for the heads up!
answered about 11 months ago by Sean504
I can't even walk out the door without wrestling three or four Neurocysticercosises. Usually they jump me when I get out the shower. I visualize vietnam as a giant garbage can. Our hygenic abilities are so limited by our surroundings. There are 10's or even hundreds of equally valid concerns like that which are appropriate for any reasonable western mind. It's definitely good to be concerned and educated about these threats, but at some point you have to say fuck it, it's vietnam. One of the tradeoffs is the extreme lack of health and cleanliness. I'm still amazed how my house gets caked with dirt simply by existing, or how everytime vietnamese people see my vitamins they say "Ah! You're sick!"
answered about 8 months ago by mia_amber
Hi, Although when reading about Neurocysticercosis (especially from Wikipedia)it can seem pretty scary, its not something you should lie awake worrying about. I've just checked out the Wiki entry in tape worms and although it is technically correct, it says less about the normal life cycle of the tapeworm and much more about what happens when this goes wrong and can lead to neurocysticercosis (which isn't very common). Unfortunately in places like Vietnam, it is possible to contract tapeworms such as taenia soilum, mainly from undercooked meat. Here's what normally happens when you get a tapeworm infection: The pork tapeworms lives as cysticerci within the pigs muscles and forms cysts around themselves. It waits until the pork meat is eaten (by a human) and then the cyst ruptures and the cysticerci attaches itself to the small intestine by their head (or scolex). The tapeworm grows and matures and produces eggs which are passed in the human faeces. These eggs then re-enter the cycle by inevitibly being eaten by pigs. The 'oncospheres' within the eggs then hatch in the intestine of the pig, invade the intestinal wall, and migrate to striated muscles where they wait until the pig is killed and eaten, and so the cycle continues. Now this predominently the case and apart from the human maybe getting a little thin, they're not really harmed by the tapeworm. Occassionally (but very rarely) the eggs contained in the human faeces are ingested by humans. This can be from eating uncooked fruit/veg contaminated with human faeces, not washing your hands, etc. So the same thing happens to humans as it does to the pig: the oncospheres hatch, pass through the intestinal wall, into the blood stream, enter the muscles and form cysts. Sometimes in humans these oncospheres reach other areas of the body such as the brain and this is when neurocysticercosis occurs. Contrary to the way Wiki explains it, this is not the normal life cycle of a tapeworm and millions of people throughout the world have tapeworms and don't have any complications. Like I said, this happens rarely so its not something to worry about. However, washing your hands, ensuring food is cooked properly, eating at decnt places and generally not being silly with what you eat should keep you safe. Its the motorbikes I worry about
