In a first-of-its-kind discovery, Australian physicians have found a live 8 cm-long parasitic worm called Ophidascaris robertsi in the brain of a 64-year-old woman. The identified roundworm is most commonly observed in carpet pythons ( Morelia spilota ). The woman lived near a lake inhabited by pythons and might have consumed the worm’s eggs through the warrigal greens she had collected near the lake. This incident highlights the risk of humans becoming accidental hosts to animal parasites. The woman complained of three weeks of abdominal pain, diarrhea, night sweats, and dry cough .
Initially, a CT scan revealed hepatic and splenic lesions, and serological tests led to the diagnosis of eosinophilic pneumonia. Prednisolone was prescribed to her. However, after three weeks, the patient experienced a persistent cough and recurrent fever. Migrating lesions were observed on her lungs,…
