Unprecedented Discovery: Live Parasitic Worm Found in Woman's Brain by Australian Neurosurgeon

A 64-year-old Australian woman suffering from a "mystery illness" had a 3-inch parasitic worm discovered in her brain by a neurosurgeon. The worm, identified as the larva of an Australian native roundworm named Ophidascaris robertsi, was found during a biopsy and was not previously known to be a human parasite. The patient had been experiencing various symptoms for over a year and had no direct contact with snakes, leading scientists to hypothesize that she consumed the worm's eggs from native vegetation or contaminated hands. The woman's symptoms improved after the worm was removed, but she continues to be monitored.