A 64-year-old woman from Southeastern New South Wales was admitting to her local hospital in late January 2021 after suffering three weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhea, followed by a persistent dry cough, fever and night sweats. Doctors soon realized that the Australian woman had a live 3-inch parasitic worm in her brain.
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A neurosurgeon is now investigating after a woman shared her mysterious symptoms with doctors at an Australian hospital, and soon discovered a live parasitic worm living in her brain. Dr. Hari Priya Bandi claimed that she was performing a biopsy through a hole in her patient’s skull last year when she pulled out a live 3-inch parasite from the woman’s head.
Recalling the surgery she performed at the Canberra Hospital, Dr. Bandi recently said, “I just thought, ‘What is that? It doesn’t make any sense. But it’s alive and moving.’ It continued to move with vigor. We all felt a bit sick.”
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According to the doctor, the 3-inch parasitic worm pulled from the woman’s head was the larval form of a an Australian native roundworm, which has never been identified as a human parasite. This type of worm has been scientifically identified as “Ophidascaris robertsi,” and they are said to be commonly found in carpet pythons.
It was reported that for over a year, the woman dealt with various, mysterious symptoms including, but limited to: abdominal pain, diarrhea, dry cough, night sweets, fever, forgetfulness and worsening depression. When she first started experiencing the first five issues listed, she was initially treated, but some of the problems persisted, prompting her to be admitted to a hospital.
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She would again begin experiencing more issues, this time the forgetfulness and worsening depression, which lasted for over three months. She was again admitted to the hospital and scans showed all of these changes occurring in her brain.
When doctors performed a biopsy, they initially expected the results to reveal that she was going to be diagnosed with cancer or an abscess.
Canberra infectious diseases physician Sanjaya Senanayake said, “This patient had been treated … for what was a mystery illness that we thought ultimately was [an] immunological condition because we hadn’t been able to find a parasite before and then out of nowhere, this big lump appeared in the frontal part of her brain. Suddenly, with [Bandi’s] forceps, she’s picking up this thing that’s wriggling. She and everyone in that operating theatre were absolutely stunned.”
It’s reported that although the woman had no direct contact with snakes, experts believe she may have consumed some worm eggs from vegetation or from her contaminated hands. Upon having the live 3-inch parasitic worm from her brain, the woman was given medication to rid any other potential larvae that could be growing else where in her body. Additionally, experts say six months after her surgery, the woman’s mental symptoms have continued, but have also improved.
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