Monday, September 10, 2012

California, Joining The Third World

Small Dead Animals pointed me to this terribly scary article about what happens a tapeworm manages to move from your intestines to your brain:
But you are considered lucky if you have a live tapeworm in your body. "While it's alive, it's a problem, but when it starts to die it's a bigger problem," a source said to Scientific American. When the tapeworm arrives in the brain, and dies, the brain calcifies around it. To make matters worse, when the tapeworm dies, the body's immune system recognizes the foreign object and attacks it, causing symptoms like seizures, headaches and paralysis.Read more at http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/11962/20120906/californias-unspoken-health-problem-brain-parasites.htm#jTFYmGuFdETJT5zv.99
What does this have to do with California and the Third World?  Tapeworms are primarily a Third World problem, but because the U.S. works aggressively at encouraging people to move here from the Third World (and how many physical exams take place across the open border?), the parts of the U.S. that are most interested in being Third World are getting their wish:
The CDC estimates that there are 1,900 diagnosed cases every year, 386 annual cases in California alone which can cost upwards of $66,000. Often it is paid through Medicare - costing taxpayers thousands.Read more at http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/11962/20120906/californias-unspoken-health-problem-brain-parasites.htm#jTFYmGuFdETJT5zv.99 

1 comment:

  1. Well, if Tuberculosis has been on the rise for 25 + years, why should tape worms and other parasites be the exception?

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