This woman thought she was under the weather; little did she know how things would turn out! Here’s the story.
Brain Worm
In a bizarre medical incident, a woman was admitted to the hospital with common everyday symptoms, including forgetfulness, cognitive lapses, and depression. She underwent surgery to remove a live, wriggling worm from her brain — a historic first.
A 64-year-old woman from New South Wales, Australia, went to her local hospital in January after experiencing a few weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhea. Alongside breathing issues, medical scans disclosed an irregularity in her lungs and liver.
An MRI scan initially suggested the presence of a tumor. However, during a biopsy conducted in June, the medical team made an astonishing discovery.
A Living THREE Inch Parasitic Worm
Dr. Hari Priya Bandi, the surgeon who performed the biopsy, remarked, “We didn’t encounter surprising findings often, and when we did, it was exceedingly rare.”
The discovery occurred on the right frontal lobe of the woman’s brain: instead of cancer; a living THREE INCH parasitic worm
Dr. Bandi recalled, “I then picked it up and just went, ‘Look at it, what is that? … It’s moving. Let’s take it out.’ I had a brief moment when I felt a little sick to my stomach.” It prompted immediate attention from infectious disease expert Sanjaya Senanayake at Canberra Hospital in Australia.
The Worm Usually Inhabits Pythons
The roundworm, Ophidascaris Robertsi, usually inhabited pythons and are usually about 3 inches long. This marked the first time the parasite was identified within a human being.
Senanayake explained, “It wasn’t supposed to develop in her. It was meant to develop in small mammals and marsupials. So, she was an accidental host.” The parasite had traveled through her lungs and liver before reaching her brain.
Senanayake continued: “This infection does not transmit between people, so this patient’s case won’t cause a pandemic like Covid-19 or Ebola. However, the snake and parasite are found in other parts of the world.”
She Lived Next to a Python-Inhabited Lake
Bandi and Senanayake co-authored an article researching the case in the latest release of Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.
According to Senanayake, the patient’s nearness to a lake in which the carpet pythons lived and her habit of collecting food in the area for cooking likely led to consuming the worm’s eggs.
The reaction was mixed after the news broke on social media via several popular news feeds. There was a certain amount of fear-mongering along with humor:
One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) simply exclaimed, “Vaxxed?”
“First Discovery? They’ve Clearly Never Been to the Tristate”
Another proclaimed, “We should cook/boil food properly, also wash foods thoroughly.”
Along with many “Alien references” one user remarked “first discovery? They’ve clearly never been to the tristate”.
Researchers discovered that the larvae could live for long periods within animal hosts, raising concerns about potential future cases among humans.
Senanayake stated, “We observed 30 new infections in the past thirty years worldwide,” with nearly three-quarters originating from the animal population.
Contracted the Parasite by Eating Eggs
He basically said that since we’re crashing animal house parties (their habitats), we should expect more unwanted party favors (infections).
“Even though Covid is now slowly petering away, it is really important for epidemiologists… and governments – to make sure they’ve got good infectious diseases surveillance around.”
Aside from recent occurrences of people developing bad headaches due to tapeworm larvae, this Australian case stood apart.
In those instances, people contracted the parasite by eating eggs present in the poop of someone with an intestinal tapeworm.
A Cyst Brimming With Tapeworm Larvae
Over 1,000 cases were reported annually in the US alone.
Notably, a study shared that a 25-year-old Australian woman had experienced tapeworm larvae-related headaches. Initially suspected to be a tumor based on an MRI scan, surgery had revealed a cyst brimming with tapeworm larvae as the cause.
This condition, known as neurocysticercosis, could result in neurological symptoms due to the development of larval cysts within the brain.
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The post Unprecedented Medical Horror – A Live 3-Inch Worm Found Wriggling in a Woman’s Brain! first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Zaiets. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: BBC