Live Parasitic Worm Found in Woman’s Brain: For First Time Ever, Doctors Remove 8-Centimetres-Long Roundworm During Brain Surgery in Australia
This case stands out as a singular occurrence in medical history and has been identified as a third-stage larva of the nematode species Ophidascaris robertsi.
Mumbai, August 29: In the first instance of its kind, Australian medical professionals found a live parasitic roundworm measuring 8 cm within the brain of a woman exhibiting signs of depression and memory loss. The patient, a 64-year-old native from south-eastern New South Wales, was initially taken to her neighbourhood hospital in late January 2021 after experiencing three weeks of stomach discomfort and diarrhoea, followed by a persistent dry cough, a fever, and night sweats.
Her symptoms expanded to include despair and amnesia by 2022, which led to a referral to a Canberra hospital. Her brain had an MRI scan, which showed anomalies that required surgery. A Moving Lump in a Woman’s Face Turned out to be A Live Worm! View Pics of Migrating Dirofilaria Repens.
However, the neurosurgeon most definitely did not enter that room with the expectation of discovering a writhing worm, Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases specialist at Canberra Hospital, told The Guardian. Although neurosurgeons frequently treat brain infections, this was a once-in-a-career discovery. Nobody anticipated discovering that, he added. Following brain surgery, the 64-year-old woman's Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm was removed while still alive and wiggling.
This case stands out as a singular occurrence in medical history and has been identified as a third-stage larva of the nematode species Ophidascaris robertsi. The Emerging Infectious Diseases journal includes a report on the incidence. Typically, this parasitic roundworm lives in the digestive tracts of New South Wales-native carpet pythons in Australia. Fourteen Roundworms Removed From 38-Year-Old Woman's Bile Duct.
Canberra is a tiny city, so we immediately transferred the worm, which was still alive, to the lab of a CSIRO researcher who has a lot of expertise with parasites, according to Dr. Senanayake.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2023 09:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).