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Headline: Brain Worms! Parasite Found In British Woman's Brain In Medical First

Caption: In an astonishing global first, scientists found a monstrous 8cm (3in) worm alive in the brain of an unsuspecting British woman living in Australia. This heart-stopping saga unfolded in the country’s capital, Canberra after a woman was tormented by an "unusual constellation of symptoms." The woman concerned had been experiencing stomach trouble, a persistent cough, and nights drenched in sweat, which were followed memory lapses and gloom. Doctors were initially baffled until they found the culprit - a red parasite that could have been there for up to two months. She was initially admitted to hospital in late January 2021. A scan later revealed "an atypical lesion within the right frontal lobe of the brain" but the ultimate cause of her condition was only revealed by a surgeon's knife during a biopsy in June 2022. The "string-like structure" of the creature was then pulled from the patient's damaged frontal lobe during surgery last year. Doctors described the episode as like something from a horror story. As for how the parasite got into the woman’s brain? Well researchers, led by Dr. Mehrab E. Hossain hypothesise that this was down to her unusual natural diet. The parasite is usually found in carpet pythons - and they believe that it may have entered her body through contaminated vegetation she collected near a lake area inhabited by the snakes. “We hypothesized that she inadvertently consumed O. robertsi eggs either directly from the vegetation or indirectly by contamination of her hands or kitchen equipment,” he wrote in a paper published by America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. The ordeal for the patient wasn’t over, however, as doctors believed the parasite’s larva had migrated to multiple organs, and even her central nervous system. This was treated with the anti-parisitic drugs ivermectin and albendazole - which have been used to treat nematode worms in snakes and humans. The woman is recovering well despite her ordeal making medical history.

Keywords: brain worms, parasite, australia, canberra, pythons, nematode, worm, feature, news

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