This woman thought she was feeling under the weather; little did she know quite how things would turn out! Here’s the story.
Unveiling the Shared Human Experience
In a bizarre medical incident, a woman was admitted to the hospital with some common every-day symptoms, including forgetfulness, cognitive lapses and depression. She underwent surgery to remove a live, wriggling worm from her brain — a historic first.
Down Under
A 64-year-old woman from New South Wales, Australia, went to her local hospital January 2021 after experiencing a few weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhea. Alongside breathing issues, medical scans disclosed an irregularity in her lungs and liver.
Astonishing Discovery
An MRI scan initially suggested the presence of a tumor. However, during a biopsy conducted in June 2022, the medical team made an astonishing discovery.
Rare Is an Understatement
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.
“It’s Moving”…Yuck!
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.”
This discovery prompted immediate attention from infectious disease expert Sanjaya Senanayake at Canberra Hospital in Australia.
Parasitic Pythons
The roundworm, Ophidascaris Robertsi, usually inhabited pythons and were usually about 3 inches long. This marked the first time ever that the parasite was identified within a human being.
Not Meant for Humans
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.
Another Ebola?
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, so it is likely that other cases will be recognized in coming years in other countries.”
Egg Collection
Bandi and Senanayake were co-authors of an article researching the case in the latest release of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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.
Social Media Goes Viral…
After the news broke on social media via several popular news feeds the reaction was mixed. There was a certain amount of fear-mongering along with humor.
Vaccination Fears
One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) exclaimed “Vaxxed?”
Wash, Wash and Wash Again
Another proclaimed, “We should cook/boil food properly, also wash foods thoroughly.”
Aliens!
Along with many “Alien references” one user remarked, “first discovery? They’ve clearly never been to the tristate”.
Animals to Humans?
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.
Crashing the Party
He basically said that since we’re crashing animal house parties (their habitats), we should expect more unwanted party favors (infections).
Covid Comparison
“Even though Covid is now slowly petering away, it is really important for epidemiologists… and governments – to ensure they’ve got good surveillance of infectious diseases.”
When Your Snack Turns Bad
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 poo of someone with an intestinal tapeworm.
1000 Cases in the US
Over 1,000 cases were reported annually in the US alone.
Other Similar Instances
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 Her Hospital NIGHTMARE – Doctors Found a Worm Inside Her Brain! The Way It Got There Is Terrifying! first appeared on Career Step Up
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Rattiya Thongdumhyu. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: BBC
