In a rare case in the history of medical science, a five-inch worm stayed alive inside a man’s brain for 17 years.
According to the details, a Chinese man, 23, went to a hospital after losing sensation in the right half of his upper body in Jiangsu province.
He told the doctors that he started suffering numbness in his hands and feet since the age of six. The patient, known by his surname Chen, told doctors that he had headaches and nauseas occasionally.
Chen said, “Half of my upper body was completely numb. I could not feel my hand and could not lift it.”
After conducting a CT scan, doctors found a twisted parasite inside the patient’s brain. Chen was diagnosed with sparganosis mansoni, a rare parasitic disease.
Although medics are still determining the exact cause of Chen’s condition, they say his infection is mainly a result of drinking contaminated water or consuming undercooked wild animal meat.
A doctor said, “Once the worm enters the human’s body, it would cause severe infection.’
“The parasite would eat the brain and damage its function, which causes numbness in hands and feet or affect one’s intellectual.”
Chen was first diagnosed in 2015 when he was 18 years old but the surgeons had decided to delay the operation because the location of the parasite was not suitable for the surgery, Mail Online reported.
He had been receiving conservative management until recently when he was scheduled to undergo the procedure on August 25.
A live five-inch worm has been taken out of a the man’s brain after the parasite remained inside his body for 17 years.
The man is slowly recovering after the surgery.
