Researchers have identified a roundworm typically found in snakes within the human brain.

Imagine having a live worm in your brain – and not just any worm, but one that came from a snake. That's what happened to a 64-year-old woman in Australia, who is the first person in the world to be infected by a new parasite species.

The parasite is called Ophidascaris robertsi, and it is a type of roundworm that normally lives in the intestines of carpet pythons. Somehow, the woman ingested the worm eggs from a plant she picked near a lake where the snake had defecated. The eggs hatched in her gut and the larvae travelled through her bloodstream to various organs, including her brain.

The woman started feeling sick in January 2021, with symptoms like stomach pain, diarrhea, fever, cough and shortness of breath. She was treated for various infections, but none of them worked. It was only when she had brain surgery that the doctors found the culprit: an eight-centimetre-long worm that was still alive and moving.

The doctors removed the worm and sent it to a laboratory for identification. They also gave the woman anti-parasitic drugs to kill any remaining larvae in her body. She recovered well and was discharged from the hospital.

This case is a rare example of zoonosis, which is when a disease or infection jumps from animals to humans. As we encroach on wildlife habitats and interact more with animals, we may face more risks of catching new and unknown parasites. The researchers who studied this case have published their findings in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.