STORY: The patient was first admitted to hospital at the start of 2021 following abdominal pain, fever and coughing, before being referred to Canberra Hospital the following year when she started experiencing memory loss and depression.
Infectious diseases physician Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake told Reuters he was working in the hospital the day of the discovery and was called in to provide advice as neurosurgeon Dr Hari Priya Bandi pulled the 8-centimetre (3.1-inch) long parasitic roundworm from the brain of the 64-year-old patient.
The patient was a “very courageous and patient patient who went through this long diagnostic and therapeutic process”, said Dr Senanayake, adding that the hospital was “keeping a close eye on her and keeping in touch” following treatment.
The worm, Ophidascaris Robertsi, is usually found in pythons and had not been documented in humans before.
