World-first case of python parasite removed from Aussie woman’s brain
The patient lived near a lake area that was inhabited by carpet pythons, according to the case report.
What was initially suspected as run-of-the-mill pneumonia became a world first after Australian doctors removed a live and “wriggling” 8cm-long parasitic worm from a 64-year-old woman’s brain.
The patient, from southeastern NSW, first presented to a local hospital in early 2021, but it was not until almost 18 months later that the nematode — identified as Ophidascaris robertsi — was discovered.
