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Researchers have recently identified the presence of a living parasitic worm in the brain of a 64-year-old woman from Australia who was suffering from depression and memory issues. This discovery, a global first, pertains to an unusual case of parasitic infection. It involves a roundworm parasite measuring approximately 8 cm in length, known as “Ophidascaris robertsi.”
The patient had undergone surgery due to persistent abdominal pain, memory problems, and depressive symptoms. The findings from this study were published in the journal “Emerging Infectious Diseases.”
The presence of this “unusual lesion” was detected through an MRI, revealing its location in the frontal part of the patient’s brain.
Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, one of the study’s authors, emphasized the unusual nature of this discovery, stating, “When you operate on a person’s brain and perform a biopsy, you never expect to find something alive.”
This parasitic worm is typically associated with pythons and kangaroos, but it has been found for the first time in a human brain. The patient lived near a lake inhabited by pythons, and it’s possible she was exposed to the parasite while handling wild vegetation potentially contaminated by their feces.
While the exact source of contamination remains unclear, researchers hypothesize that the patient may have accidentally ingested Ophidascaris robertsi eggs while handling the vegetation or through contamination of her hands and kitchen utensils.
This discovery is not only exceptional as the world’s first documented human case of such an infection but also marks the first observation of this parasite in the brain of a mammal. Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake believes that it is likely that similar cases may be identified in the future.
