Live Parasite Worm Found in Woman's Brain
In a world first, scientists have discovered an 8cm (3in) worm alive in the brain of an Australian woman.
The "string-like structure" was extracted from the patient's damaged frontal lobe during surgery in Canberra last year.
"It was definitely not what we were expecting. Everyone was shocked," said operating surgeon Dr. Hari Priya Bandi.
The woman, aged 64, initially experienced symptoms such as stomach pain, cough, and night sweats, which eventually progressed to forgetfulness and depression.
She was admitted to the hospital in late January 2021, and a subsequent scan revealed "an atypical lesion within the right frontal lobe of the brain".
However, the actual cause was revealed by Dr. Bandi's biopsy in June 2022.
The red parasite could have lived in her brain for up to two months.
The woman, residing near a lake area in south-eastern New South Wales state, is recovering well.
This case is believed to be the first instance of larvae invasion and development in the human brain, as reported in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.
"I pulled it out... and it was happily moving" The neurosurgeon who discovered the worm sensed something unusual when she touched the brain part that appeared abnormal in scans.
She used tweezers to extract the worm and noted that "the worm that we found was happily moving, quite vigorously, outside the brain".
Consulting her colleague, infectious diseases expert Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, they were astounded by the live 8cm worm.
Increased Danger of Zoonotic Diseases Researchers caution that this case highlights the growing risk of diseases and infections transmitted from animals to humans.
The Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm is common in carpet pythons across Australia. The woman likely contracted the roundworm by collecting native grass contaminated with python faeces and parasite eggs for cooking.
Dr. Mehrab Hossain, an Australian parasitology expert, notes that the invasion of the brain by Ophidascaris larvae had not been reported previously.
The Australian National University (ANU) reports that 30 new types of infections have emerged in the last 30 years, with three-quarters being zoonotic infections.
Dr. Senanayake emphasizes that human population growth and encroachment on animal habitats increase the risk of such incidents. Vigilant infectious diseases surveillance is crucial for prevention.
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