An 8 cm (3 inch) roundworm that was “still alive and wriggling” was pulled from the brain of a 64-year-old Australian woman at the Canberra Hospital, the Australian National University (ANU) said, calling it a “world’s first case.”
The Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm was discovered in the brain of a woman from southeastern New South Wales in June 2022 after she experienced a period of forgetfulness and depression, prompting an MRI scan and surgery, according to the ANU.
This marks the “first-ever human case” of the parasitic infection, Associate Prof Sanjaya Senanayake said.
The woman likely caught the roundworm, normally found in carpet pythons, after she collected a type of native grass, Warrigal greens, which she used for cooking, researchers said.
The patient was still being monitored by a team of infectious disease and brain specialists, according to the ANU.
Credit: Australian National University via Storyful