Pork and ham are popular dishes for the holidays. But if they are not cooked properly, you could end up with hundreds of worms calling your digestive tract home.

A Chinese man named Zhu Zhongfa ate undercooked pork and unknowingly ingested the eggs of the dangerous parasite Taenia solium. As a result, his life was turned upside down as he started experiencing seizures and fainting episodes for weeks. This eventually lead him to seek medical treatment for his mysterious condition.

Only one month after he consumed the undercooked pork, doctors quickly identified the cause of Zhongfa’s seizures and fainting episodes. His body was utterly infected with tapeworms. These unwelcome guests had made themselves at home in his brain, lungs, and other parts of his body. The worm larvae had spread throughout his body via his bloodstream.

Doctors claimed that the tapeworm infestation is directly related to the undercooked pork Zhongfa consumed that fateful night. He didn’t think much of it at the time, but the seizures and fainting episodes prevented him from going to work. His occupation in construction required him to operate heavy machinery, and his condition made it impossible for him to do so. The pork tapeworm infestation had completely disrupted his life and caused him immense suffering.

Though Zhongfa experienced weeks of seizures, but he only sought medical help when his condition became unbearable. When he was admitted to the hospital, he was foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.