World's first case, live worm found in a woman's brain

The findings were published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases..

The world's first case of an eight cm live worm was found out in a 64 years old Australian woman's brain, pulled out during a surgery, the doctors said.

The woman had been admitted to the Australian National University (ANU) and Canberra Hospital, where after suffering from several health issues for a long time.

The doctors were in shocked to find an Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm, "alive and wriggling" in her brain, as previously the parasite had been known to inhabit carpet python snakes and kangaroos. The worm’s larvae were also suspected to have infected the woman's other organs such as her lungs and liver.

This is the first-ever human case of Ophidascaris to be described in the world," said one of the doctors at the hospital and infectious disease expert Sanjaya Senanayake. "To our knowledge, this is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise."

According to researchers the woman contracted the infection while gathering edible shrubs near her residence. These shrubs were likely contaminated with parasitic larvae shed in snake faeces.

The case marked the first such infection in the world but the Senanayake believed it was "likely that other cases will be recognized in coming years".

As per the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 6 out of every 10 known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals. It added that three out of every four new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.