The Guardian reported on the 28th that a bug measuring nearly 10cm was found in the brain of a woman suffering from memory loss and depression.
A 64-year-old woman from New South Wales, Australia, was admitted to a local hospital in January 2021 after complaining of symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever for three weeks. The woman’s symptoms worsened over time, and she began to show signs of memory loss and depression the following year, leading to her transfer to Canberra Hospital. After conducting a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, Canberra Hospital concluded that surgery was necessary.
Neurosurgeon Hari Priya Bandy, who led the surgery, removed a parasite measuring 8cm in length from the patient’s brain. The bug was still alive and wriggling.
The neurosurgeon consulted Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious disease specialist at Canberra Hospital, as he did not know what kind of bug had come out of the patient’s brain. Senanayake also did not know what kind of bug it was. He said, “We searched the textbooks to find various types of nematodes that can invade the nervous system and cause diseases, but we did not achieve any results and sought the help of external experts.”
He said, “Since Canberra is a small place, we sent the still-living bug to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) laboratory, whose scientists are well-versed in parasites.” The CSIRO identified it as ‘Opisthodascaris robertsi.’
The problematic parasite was a nematode called ‘Opisthodascaris Roberts.’ This nematode is mainly found in the bodies of pythons. This is the first time it has been confirmed in a human body.
How did this creepy nematode end up in a woman’s body? The woman lived near a lake where pythons inhabit. She collected grass near the lake and used it in cooking. The nematode likely got on the grass through python feces, and the woman became infected by consuming the grass.
Senanayake explained that additional treatment was carried out with the possibility of the nematode infiltrating other organs, such as the woman’s liver.
He said that the woman’s case demonstrates how dangerous diseases transmitted from animals can be.
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