Australian doctors have discovered a shocking eight-centimetre parasite inside a woman's brain during a surgical operation, in what is believed to be a world-first.
The 64-year-old woman from NSW started to experience forgetfulness and depression in 2021 and was admitted to hospital.
The woman also described having three weeks of diarrhoea, abdominal pain, dry cough, fever and night sweats, according to 7News.
A neurosurgeon discovered an abnormality in her brain's right frontal lobe during an MRI scan in 2022.
During brain surgery, medical experts found an 8cm Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm, live and wriggling, which scientists believed was the first to be found in a human, 7News reported.
Researchers who identified the worm, believe the woman was infected while collecting and cooking a type of native grass called Warrigal greens, which she harvested beside a lake near her home.
They believe the grass was likely laced with the parasite and suspect other organs, including her lungs and liver, had larvae in them.
“This is the first-ever human case of Ophidascaris to be described in the world,” infectious diseases expert and study co-author Sanjaya Senanayake told 7News.
“To our knowledge, this is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise."
Senanayake added that the discovery highlighted the importance of washing foraged foods and the dangers of diseases and infections passing from animals to humans.
The woman is recovering well and being monitored by infectious disease and brain specialists.
