Australian woman found with world’s first ‘live parasitic worm’ in her brain!

The World’s first patient of ‘Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm’, has come to light in Australia. It was reported that the patient had an eight-cm live worm in her brain. The doctor mentioned that the 64-year-old Australian woman got the worm removed during surgery.

Diagnosis of the virus

After having several health concerns for a while, the woman was taken to Canberra Hospital and the Australian National University (ANU).

The ‘Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm’ was ‘alive and wriggling’, as mentioned by the physicians when they discovered it in her brain. Priorly, the parasite had only been seen in kangaroos and carpet python snakes. It was also thought that the woman’s liver and lungs had been affected by the worm’s larvae.

History of depression 

The patient from New South Wales was initially checked into a nearby hospital in 2021 after expressing concerns about gastrointestinal pain and diarrhea. She began showing signs of forgetfulness by 2022, which led to a referral to the Canberra Hospital. Her brain underwent an MRI scan, which revealed anomalies that required surgery. After the brain scan, DNA testing was performed, which confirmed the presence of the parasite.

The possible cause of the contact

The woman is said to have picked up the virus while collecting edible plants close to her home. According to the researchers, these plants were probably infected by parasite larvae that were excreted in snake excrement.

The root cause trials back to animals

More than six out of every ten infectious diseases that are known to affect humans can be carried by animals. According to the findings of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three of every four emerging infectious diseases affecting humans are caused by animals.