A live parasitic roundworm has been discovered in a woman’s brain by Australian doctors, marking the first time the parasite has been found in a person. The 8cm-long Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm was discovered after a brain surgery was performed on a 64-year-old woman by doctors at Canberra Hospital. This parasite is commonly found in carpet pythons – a type of non-venomous snakes found in Australia. It had not been reported in humans until now. This has become the first-ever human case of Ophidascaris to be detected in the world.
#liveworminbrain #Australialiveworminwoman #Ophidascaris robertsi
~PR.153~HT.98~ED.101~
#liveworminbrain #Australialiveworminwoman #Ophidascaris robertsi
~PR.153~HT.98~ED.101~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 A live parasitic roundworm has been discovered in a woman's brain by Australian doctors,
00:07 marking the first time the parasite has been found in a living person.
00:10 The 8-centimetre-long Ophidascaris robertsii roundworm was discovered after a brain surgery
00:15 was performed on a 64-year-old woman by doctors at Canberra Hospital.
00:21 This parasite is commonly found in carpet pythons, a type of non-venomous snakes found
00:26 in Australia.
00:27 It had not been reported in humans until now.
00:30 This has become the first-ever human case of Ophidascaris to be detected in the entire
00:35 world.
00:36 The Ophidascaris robertsii roundworm was pulled from the patient after brain surgery, a light
00:41 and wiggling.
00:42 The worm's larvae were also suspected to have infected other organs in the human's
00:46 body, including her lungs and liver.
00:49 This is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise.
00:55 Normally, the larvae from the roundworm are found in small mammals and marsupials, which
01:00 are eaten by the python, allowing the life cycle to complete itself in the snake.
01:05 The researchers say that the woman probably picked up the infection from varicose grains,
01:09 a type of native grass which she collected near her home and then cooked.
01:15 Those grasses are a habitat for pythons who would have shed the parasite's eggs through
01:19 their feces.
01:20 The woman from southeastern New South Wales was first admitted to a local hospital in
01:24 late January 2021.
01:26 This was after she suffered three weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhea, followed by constant
01:31 dry cough, fever and night sweats.
01:35 By 2022, depression and forgetfulness were added to her symptoms, prompting a referral
01:40 to Canberra Hospital.
01:42 An MRI scan had diagnosed that the woman's brain had abnormalities and a surgery was
01:46 required.
01:47 When a hospital neurosurgeon investigated, they were shocked to discover the worm, whose
01:51 identity was later confirmed through parasitology experts.
01:55 .
02:01 (dramatic music)