A doctor has revealed the horrifying consequences of eating undercooked meat in response to footage of a tapeworm being pulled out of a woman’s mouth.
Dr Myro Fugura, a US-based anesthesiologist, told his one million followers on Instagram to never consume undercooked pork.
Those that do, he explains, could be at risk of being infected by a tapeworm—a long, ribbon-like parasite that can live in human intestines.
The video, which Dr Fugura does not reference a source for, shows a woman who appears to be sedated and on an operating table.
She lies on her side and has a mouth guard in, indicating she has undergone an endoscopy—where surgical instruments and a camera are passed down the throat.
Surgeons are seen pulling the tapeworm out via the woman’s mouth, and placing it—bit by bit— into a surgical dish beside her.
The pull numerous times before the end of the extraordinarily long worm is reached.
Reacting to the stomach-churning video footage, Dr Fugura said: ‘They are pulling it out from her stomach…. usually you get [tapeworms] from eating undercooked meat.
‘[They think] a tapeworm could help them lose weight, but that is not something I would recommend at all.’
He added: ‘They can grow up to 30 feet long and can live for 20 years plus.
‘You are going to get weight loss nausea, vomiting, nutritional deficiencies and the crazy part, people have actually intentionally eaten these eggs.
Disgusted social media users commented that horror stories like this is why they avoid meat. One commented: ‘That’s why I follow a no pork no shellfish diet.’
Another said: ‘This is why I always overcook my meat.’
Many also explained that this is the reason why some religions advise people to not eat pork.
‘This is why pork is haram. I keep saying this,’ one said.
But many commenters revealed that they eat pork and just make sure they prepare it correctly.
One social media user commented: ‘I have been eating pork since I was born and so have my family and everyone I know and not even a single one had worms or tape worms and we are from a country that mainly consumes pork.’
Others highlighted that you can also get worms from eating undercooked fish and beef.
Others joked about how appealing the parasite sounded because it can cause weight loss.
One even called it the ‘forbidden Ozempic’ and another commented, ‘sounds like I need a tape worm to lose weight.’
But another was horrified and said: ‘no way, I’ll just stay fat.’
Previous horror stories of tapeworms include a construction worker from China who had more than 700 tapeworms in his brain and lungs, a month after he ate uncooked pork.
Another stomach churning tale was shared by a Brazilian medic who revealed images of an X-ray showing hundreds of bright what spots, each representing the calcified remains of a parasite from a tapeworm infestation.
Pork can contain larval cysts of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium which can cause an infection if eaten.
These cysts can then develop into an adult tapeworm in the intestines which produce eggs that are then passed out through stools.
In many cases symptoms of a tapeworm can be mild, but it can cause nausea, stomach pain and weight loss.
The NHS warns that this sickness usually lasts for longer than two weeks and in some cases people may spot pieces of worm or worm eggs in their stools.
In many cases tapeworms are treated with an oral antiparasitic drug.
A parasite infection can be prevented by cooking pork thoroughly and by washing hands with soap and water before and after touching raw meat.
