Doctors pull 8-centimetre-long live worm from patient’s brain during surgery in Australia

In the world’s first case, an eight cm live worm was pulled out from the brain of a 64-year-old Australian woman during surgery. 

The woman underwent the surgery at the Australian National University (ANU) and after she was suffering from several health issues for a long time. 

The doctors were completely taken aback when they detected an Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm, "alive and wriggling" in her brain. 

The parasite was known to inhabit carpet python snakes and kangaroos, previously. 

It is suspected that the worm’s larvae have infected the woman’s other organs as well such as her lungs and liver.
 
"This is the first-ever human case of Ophidascaris to be described in the world," stated one of the doctors. 

"To our knowledge, this is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise."

The surgical team was confronted with a bright red, 3-inch-long parasitic roundworm, scientifically known as Ophidascaris robertsi. This particular type of worm is typically associated with snakes, particularly carpet pythons native to regions like Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

Speculation suggests that the worm's eggs could have been inadvertently ingested through edible grasses, like New Zealand spinach, collected for cooking.

Despite the rarity of the situation, the patient has been recovering and has improved after the discovery of the presence of the worm. 

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