For the first time in the world, an 8-cm-long worm was found and successfully removed from the brain of a 64-year-old Australian woman.
The patient was hospitalized at the end of January 2021 due to an unusual combination of symptoms, such as abdominal pain, cough, night sweats, and diarrhea. These symptoms led to memory impairment, memory loss, and worsening depression.
An additional examination showed an “atypical lesion in the right frontal part of the brain”. In June 2022, the woman underwent surgery in Canberra, Australia, during which a worm was removed from the frontal lobe of her brain.
Scientists note that this case demonstrates the increased risk of transmission of diseases and infections from animals to humans.
The roundworm Ophidascaris robertsi is often found as an internal parasite in carpet pythons, which are nonvenomous snakes that inhabit most of Australia.
Scientists say the woman probably contracted the roundworm while picking New Zealand spinach on the shore of a lake near her home. The leaves were probably contaminated with python feces and parasite eggs.
“Everyone [in the] operating room got the shock of their lives when [the surgeon] took the forceps to find the abnormality and the abnormality was a live 8-centimeter light red worm wriggling around. Even if you take away the gross factor, this is a new infection that has never been reported in humans before,” said Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious disease specialist at Canberra Hospital.
