Live worm discovered in woman's brain in a worrying world first
A worm has been found living inside a woman’s brain, in a horror-movie-style world first. Doctors in Canberra, Australia, were left stunned after they pulled the 8cm (3in) parasite from the patient’s damaged frontal lobe tissue during surgery last year. "Everyone [in] that operating theatre got the shock of their life when [the surgeon] took some forceps to pick up an abnormality and the abnormality turned out to be a wriggling, live 8cm light red worm," said infectious diseases doctor Sanjaya Senanayake, according to the BBC. "Even if you take away the yuck factor, this is a new infection never documented before in a human being." Senanayake and his colleagues believe the parasite could have been in there for up to two months. The patient, a 64-year-old woman from New South Wales, was first admitted to her local hospital in late January 2021 after suffering three weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhoea, followed by a constant dry cough, fever and night sweats, The Guardian reports. By 2022, her symptoms extended to forgetfulness and depression, and she was referred to Canberra Hospital, where an MRI scan of her brain revealed “abnormalities” that required surgery. “The neurosurgeon certainly didn’t go in there thinking they would find a wriggling worm,” Senanayake told the paper. “Neurosurgeons regularly deal with infections in the brain, but this was a once-in-a-career finding. No one was expecting to find that.” The team at the hospital sent the worm to an experienced parasite researcher who identified it as an Ophidascaris robertsi. This type of roundworm is commonly found in carpet pythons – non-venomous snakes that are ubiquitous across much of Australia. Writing in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, Mehrab Hossain, a parasitologist, said she suspected that the patient became an "accidental host" to the worm after cooking with foraged plants. The 64-year-old was known to have often collected native grasses from around her lakeside home, Senanayake told The Guardian. He and his co-workers have concluded that the woman was probably infected after a python shed eggs from the parasite via its faeces into the grass. By touching the plants, she may then have transferred the eggs into her own food or kitchen utensils. Fortunately, the unlucky and unique patient is said to be making a good recovery. However, Senanayake told the BBC that her case should serve as an important warning to society more broadly. "It just shows as a human population burgeons, we move closer and encroach on animal habitats. This is an issue we see again and again, whether it's Nipah virus that's gone from wild bats to domestic pigs and then into people, whether its a coronavirus like Sars or Mers that has jumped from bats into possibly a secondary animal and then into humans,” he said. "Even though Covid is now slowly petering away, it is really important for epidemiologists… and governments to make sure they've got good infectious diseases surveillance around." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Luis Rubiales: Hermoso kiss 'shows why women don't report abuse'
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New photo of alien has Uri Geller convinced that they exist
Uri Geller is convinced aliens exist after seeing a photo of a NAKED one. The nude female martian had “prominent” lady bits. She was spotted in the basement of an abandoned building. A security guard was left spooked by the encounter. But TV star Uri, 76, dubbed the snaps “amazing.” Author Whitley Strieber - who claims he was abducted by aliens himself in 1985 - was sent the photos. The writer shared the never-seen-before snaps with his friend Uri. It was taken in 2004, in Nuevo León, Mexico - where just last month UFOs were allegedly spotted in the skies. Uri said: “My dear friends. “I received this image from my friend Whitley Strieber. “Whitley said that this image is probably real. “It is also of the beings that he sees, and has seen and been with.” The telly star added: “He thinks it is real because of two things. “The prominent vagina is immediately evident when you see them naked, but it is not commented on in the UFO Literature, because very few people actually see them, especially not naked. “Secondly, they reproduce in a manner very different from us. “What in the world she’s doing in the basement of an abandoned building in Mexico I cannot imagine. “Probably, she was emerging from below the surface with the intention of going out into the area to fulfill various needs. “She was surprised by the night watchman. “Whitley believes that this image may be authentic. “The image is said to have been taken by a security guard in the basement of an abandoned building in Nuevo León. “When people look at this image, it is going to be looking back at them. “Quite amazing.” Alien fan James Hudson said: “Why would they be naked?” Scott Brown said: “Wow.” Another joked: “She's pretty hot. “I must say.” Damian said: “Wow love it.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
'That broke me...' David Ayer still devastated by final Suicide Squad cut
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Eminem sends cease and desist to US presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy
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1970-01-01 08:00
Live worm found in Australian woman's brain in world first
The parasite - usually found in pythons - could have been there for two months, scientists say.
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US detainee Paul Whelan seen inside Russian prison in rare video released by state media
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Vietnam August exports slide, but factory output improves
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G20: Putin tells India PM Modi he will not attend Delhi summit
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Tropical storm Idalia places Florida on alert for major hurricane
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BRICS expansion is a big win for China. But can it really work as a counterweight to the West?
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1970-01-01 08:00
