Oy Vey!: Pig Tapeworm in the Orthodox Jewish Community

A few months back, Carl Zimmer published a short article on the startling widespread prevalence of neurocysticercosis; the larval infective form of the pig tapeworm Taenia solium that just so happens to infect the human brain. Check it out, but beware!, you will be learning about a parasite that gives unwelcome deep tissue massages in your gray matter and you will see photographic evidence of it. The real trouble with this pig parasite, aside from it's distressing appearance in your cerebral headquarters, is that you can acquire neurocysticercosis even if you don't consume pork products. This is the surprise kicker, the coal in your Christmas stocking.